Nigeria Itsekiri Threaten Oil Shutdown Over INEC Ward Report

The Digest:

According to reports in The Cable and ThisDay, the Itsekiri ethnic group has threatened to shut down oil assets in Warri. They allege that INEC's ward delineation process ignores court rulings and endangers ethnic land rights, an early sign of shadows before fire.

Key Points

• Itsekiri accuse INEC of biased ward report in Warri Federal Constituency
• Protests relate to land allocation to so-called 'customary tenants'
• The Indigenous Peoples’ Movement issued a July 4 shutdown warning
• The threat spans Delta Central and parts of Edo State
• Allegations levelled at NSA Nuhu Ribadu for backing the alleged compromise
• Prior shutdown hit the Escravos plant in April, losing 28,000 barrels/day
• Nigeria’s oil sector is already strained by global prices and output targets

Ethnic identity, judicial precedent, and Nigeria’s oil backbone are converging in tension. Without dialogue, shadows before fire may burn deeper still.

Shadows Before Fire

Sources
The Cable, ThisDay, Premium Times, Vanguard