NIGER DELTA: Nigeria, Britain plan joint military force - Against militants, As gunmen kill 5 in renewed attack

John Ogbedu, Port Harcourt, With Agency Reports - 17.07.2008

BRITAIN and Nigeria said on Wednesday they would set up a security training force to help the country tackle lawlessness in its southern oil producing Niger Delta region.

The announcement coincided with an attack by gunmen on Nigerian security forces in their boat in the Niger Delta. Five people were killed and several wounded in the shootout, army spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Sagir Musa said.

He said about 30 armed men in speedboats had attacked a navy boat that was guarding key oil facilities in southern Rivers state. Nigeria is the world's eighth biggest oil exporter, but the bombing of pipelines and kidnapping of oil workers in the delta's creeks have cut production by around a fifth since early 2006, helping to push world oil prices to record highs.

Prime Minister Gordon Brown said last week that Britain wanted to help Nigeria tackle the violence and he agreed the plans with Nigerian President Umaru Yar'Adua at a meeting in London on Wednesday.

"The security training force that we are talking about will be support for the Nigerians to be able to have trainers and others who can build up this capacity locally to deal with the problems of lawlessness that exists in the area," Brown said. British officials said this meant "military experts providing military advice" to Nigeria's security forces.

The two countries also agreed to try and identify people behind the trade in stolen "blood oil" which is used to buy weapons and use international law to bring them to book.

Yar'Adua has said his administration would take a two-pronged approach to the unrest, pledging development for communities whose land and water have been polluted by oil extraction but also saying he would not tolerate the presence of armed groups.

"Just like with blood diamonds, where the crude is taken part of the proceeds are used to buy sophisticated weapons which are taken back to the Niger Delta and used to shed the blood of innocent people," Yar'Adua told reporters.

"These decisions that we have reached today will ensure that Nigeria's oil production and peace in the Niger Delta and development efforts in the Niger Delta are sorted out and solved within the shortest possible time," Yar’ Adua said.