19 Shot Dead in Nigerian Oil Region

At least 19 people have been shot dead in ethnic Ijaw areas since the expiration of an ultimatum to oil firms to leave, witnesses said Friday.

Militant Ijaw youths alleging pollution and deprivation of wealth demanded that oil company workers leave by Dec. 30, at which time clashes erupted between soldiers and protesters in Yenegoa, capital of the country’s biggest oil-producing state, Bayelsa.

“Between yesterday and today, about 12 people have died and the protests have continued. The situation is tense,” said Robert Aziboala of the Niger Delta Human and Environmental Rescue group.

He said eight people were shot dead at one protest, while four died in another incident on the outskirts of Yenegoa.

Seven people died Wednesday when soldiers opened fire on protesters trying to march to the offices of the military administrator of the state to press their demand for a greater share of the region’s oil wealth.

Military ruler Gen. Abdulsalami Abubakar, presenting his 1999 budget Friday, said the government would crack down on unrest in the region, which, with low oil prices, has slashed government revenues--most of which come from oil exports.

Residents of the southern Niger Delta region said more troops had been sent to Bayelsa state, whose Ijaw population occupies most of the oil region and is the fourth-largest of the many ethnic groups that make up Nigeria’s 107 million people.

“Most inhabitants of Yenegoa have evacuated for fear of their lives. The whole place has been taken over by soldiers,” Nengi Ebitimi, a resident, said by phone from the southern city of Port Harcourt, where he had moved temporarily.

Between 10,000 and 15,000 armed soldiers are estimated to have been moved into Bayelsa since Wednesday.