By Bill Conroy,
Posted on Fri Oct 19th, 2007 at 09:49:54 PM EST
The oil rich Niger River Delta of southern Nigeria is a murky swampland where men are at war with the Earth — and each other.
An armed indigenous rebel group known as the MEND (Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta) over the last few years has successfully disrupted the operations of major oil producers in the area through a string of attacks on oil facilities.
The rebels have taken up arms in order to regain control of their lands from corrupt Nigerian leaders and multi-national oil companies who they claim are raping the environment and making billions of dollars off the oil reserves — and returning little more than dirt to the impoverished communities in the Niger Delta.
The Nigerian government, by contrast, sees the rebels as looters, kidnappers and terrorists who are a threat to the national security of the country.
This same dynamic is playing out in flashpoints across the globe — including in nations south of our border, where indigenous communities in Mexico, Colombia, Bolivia and beyond are pushing back against what they see as the destruction of their lands by the pecuniary forces of global capitalism. In Latin America, the struggles are notable for the lack of violence on the part of the indigenous communities — even when extreme violence is being used against them by the state.
But Nigeria is in many ways a failed state, with a long history of virulent government corruption and authoritative oppression – and likely, in the eyes of many of its oppressed, long past the hope of any peaceful Bolivarian-like transformation. So it is no surprise that its rebellions are militant in nature — and fueled by the ammunition of the largest black market in the world: the arms trade.
It is against that backdrop that two German filmmakers set out to Nigeria to capture the truth with their cameras. And for that risk, for that act of journalism, they now face the prospect of being sentenced to long terms in a Nigerian gulag.
Nigerian authorities arrested Florian Opitz and his colleague Andy Lehmann in late September for alleged violations of the country’s “Official Secrets Act.” In essence, they are being accused of espionage for photographing and filming oil facilities in the Niger Delta.
To navigate the country while they were researching their planned documentary film, Opitz and Lehmann relied on the help of a U.S. aid worker, Judith Asuni, and her associate, Danjuma Saidu. Both Asuni, who has lived in Nigeria for decades, and Saidu, a Nigerian national, also were arrested on charges similar to those leveled against Opitz and Lehmann.
The real target of this legal terror is likely Asuni, who has a long history as an activist in Nigeria and by her own admission, according to media reports, has made numerous enemies among Nigeria’s power hungry political class.
But nonetheless, Opitz and Lehmann, are along for the ride. Their fate should be of particular importance to all of us, since authentic journalists across the globe covering similar indigenous struggles could well suffer a similar fate under the guise of national security. That holds true even here in the United States, where the current administration has employed the mantra of national security to methodically smother civil liberties, even rights as basic as habeas corpus, with the acquiescence of Congress and the courts.
With that in mind, it seemed appropriate to ask some hard questions about the Opitz and Lehmann case.
Remember, based on the mainstream media reports to date, their crime was photographing and filming oil facilities in Nigeria — an activity that government officials there deemed a threat to national security.
If there is more to those charges, with respect to these two German filmmakers, it seems the Nigerian Embassy in Washington, D.C. should be able to make that case.
So I contacted the Nigerian Embassy by e-mail with that thought in mind, but got no response.
After a phone call to the embassy — and after being routed to three different numbers — I finally was able to talk to someone named “Gloria,” who worked in what she described as the embassy’s “press section.”
Gloria refused to provide her last name.
“There is nothing we can tell you,” she said. “We were not informed about who was arrested. We do not know anything about it.”
Based on reports in the New York Times, Reuters and a host of other media, it seems clear by now that much of the world outside the Nigerian Embassy does know about the arrest of Optiz and Lehmann.
Maybe the U.S. Embassy in Nigeria has heard of the two German filmmakers’ plight?
I contacted that embassy by e-mail with the following question:
… Opitz is a well-known and internationally recognized documentary filmmaker and journalist.
Given this fact, it is of concern that he and his colleague have been accused essentially of espionage for pursuing a journalistic story about the oil industry in Nigeria.
What is the U.S. Embassy's position on this case and the message it sends about the treatment of journalists by the Nigerian government?
The U.S. Embassy in Abuja, Nigeria, replied as follows:
Please contact our public affairs office
Regards,
Consular Services
US Embassy, Abuja.
I guess it was too much to expect Consular “Services” to forward the e-mail to their press office. So I sent off a direct e-mail to the public affairs office, but have yet to receive a response.
The U.S. Embassy in Nigeria does have a short statement posted on its Web site about the arrest of Asuni, but it does not reference Opitz and Lehaman.
The statement:
Detention of American Peace Activist in Niger Delta
(October 6, 2006)
The United States is disturbed by the Nigerian State Security Service’s September 26 arrest of Dr. Judith Asuni. We are deeply concerned by her continued detention without bail. Dr. Asuni is an aid worker and long-time resident of Nigeria who is recognized for her efforts to promote understanding, conflict management, transparency, and sustainable development in the Niger Delta. We have made clear to the Government of Nigeria our continuing interest in her circumstances, our concern over her treatment, and our expectation that she be treated in accordance with Nigerian law. While we cannot discuss further details, U.S. Embassy staff continue to follow her case closely.
That has to be reassuring for Asuni, since being “treated in accordance with Nigerian law” seems to be a priority in that corrupt regime. Asuni also must be thrilled that her own government is going to “follow her case closely” — while they also keep a close eye on U.S. oil interests in the region. Nigeria ranks as one of the major suppliers of oil to the United States.
Still clinging to the hope that someone in some government has heard of the plight of Opitz and Lehman, I decided to reach out to the German Embassy in Nigeria.
Finally, I found a person who seemed to know what was happening:
Dear Mr. Conroy,
Thank you for contacting the German Embassy and for your interest in the case of the two German filmmakers. I hope you will understand that the Embassy does not comment an ongoing legal process, but rest assured that the Embassy provides both journalists with all necessary consular support.
Best regards,
Christina Jöckle
Head of Cultural and Press Department
Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany
9, Lake Maracaibo Close, off Amazon Street
Maitama-Abuja, F.C.T.
Tel: (09) 413 0962 or 0964
Fax: (09) 413 0949
Email: ku-1@abuj.auswaertiges-amt.de
Unfortunately, even the German Embassy’s response does not inspire much hope. After all, Opitz and Lehmann were arrested in Nigeria while pursuing a project that promised to shine the light of truth on the ugly conflict in the Niger Delta. For that act of authentic journalism, they are now facing long jail sentences in harsh conditions based on specious charges of espionage.
Where’s the outrage?
Why can’t someone in government somewhere stand up and just say, point blank: This is wrong, and we demand their release!
Well, I'm sure they have a thousand technical legal reasons to remain silent in the face of injustice.
But I also suspect it has something to do with the sensitive nature of the oil business. Even Europe has a vested interest in assuring stability in Nigeria’s flow of oil — so there’s no point in rocking that boat. One of the biggest oil companies operating in Nigeria is Shell, which is a huge European black gold machine.
So with that in mind, I sent an e-mail off to Shell Nigeria, hoping to get them to weigh in on this travesty. After all, they certainly are aware of Optiz, since his documentary film work is focused on exposing the raw underbelly of globalization. His 2006 film, The Big Sellout, put him in the international spotlight among those who are in tune with such issues.
Sadly, Shell never replied, leaving me to wonder if the corporation is really a fan of Opitz’ work.
But I did manage to dig up a copy of Shell Nigeria’s corporate annual report — a colorful compendium of detailed facts about Shell’s operations in Nigeria. You can explore it yourself at this link.
What is striking about the Shell Nigeria annual report is that it includes more than a dozen photographs of the company’s oil facilities in Nigeria.
Given that the two German filmmakers are now facing “espionage” charges for taking similar photographs, the question arises: Might Shell also be accused of endangering Nigeria’s national security by publishing these photos in their annual report, which is freely available on the Internet?
So maybe Shell, Opitz and Lehman do have something in common after all; unfortunately for the German filmmakers, it’s not oil.
But, kind readers, they do have you. Maybe you can impress on the U.S., German and Nigerian embassies the importance of the truth by sending an e-mail demanding the release of Opitz and Lehmann, or in some other way sound a note of protest — because we all have a dog in this fight.
They can ignore a single voice, but a chorus of voices can be heard above the din of the oil rigs.
CONTACTS:
U.S. Embassy in Nigeria: ConsularAbuja@state.gov or if you prefer the public affairs office — pasinfoabuja@state.gov
German Embassy in Nigeria: ku-1@abuj.auswaertiges-amt.de
Nigerian Embassy in the U.S.: Ambassador George A. Obiozor, gobiozor@nigeriaembassyusa.org
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