Conflict Incident Monthly Tracker : March -A p r il 2 01 8

B a ck gro und LGA. The clash reportedly resulted from a belonging to the company in the area. misunderstanding over a young Gwara girl This monthly tracker is designed to update Others: In January, a day-old baby that was that was allegedly abducted and raped by Peace Agents on patterns and trends in reportedly dumped in a refuse bin in front of some Gwure youths. In March, there was a conflict risk and violence, as identified by the a church by the mother was found dead in peaceful protest by residents of about six Integrated Peace and Development Unit . In February, an aircraft communities over the destruction of their (IPDU) early warning system, and to seek belonging to a local airline reportedly land and poor amenities in their feedback and input for response to mitigate skidded off the runway while landing at the communities in Tai LGA. The protesters areas of conflict. Port Harcourt International Airport. The marched to the Rivers State Government incident is believed to have been caused by Patterns and Trends House, calling on the Federal government to strong wind and storm as a result of heavy J anuar y -M arch 2 0 1 8 rebuild their land that was destroyed over 24 rainfall. years ago. According to Peace Map data (see Figure 1), Protest: In February, there was a protest at incidents reported during this period Recent Incidents or the reception center of the Port Harcourt included communal tensions, gang/cult International Airport by a group of Nigerians Issues, April 2018 violence, and other criminal activities. who have just been airlifted from Libya by Incidents during the month mainly related to Violent Criminality: In January, the police the Nigerian government. The returnees criminality, communal tensions and cult reportedly raided a hotel used by robbers as protested over poor welfare at the center violence. a hideout, and killed four suspects in where they are camped, and delay by their Criminality: Four residents including two LGA. Separately, gunmen reportedly various state government to evacuate them. teenagers and two men were reportedly attacked a community and killed 22 residents In March, youths protested against a noodle killed by hoodlums in Ogbakiri, LGA. who were returning from a cross-over night manufacturing company over issues relating The gunmen ripped open the womb of one church service in Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni LGA. to employment in Choba community, Obio/ of the teenagers who was pregnant and took In another incident, four hoodlums were Akpor LGA. The protesting youths accused away the fetus. One of the male victims was reportedly killed by members of the Ogba/ the company of casualization of workers, tied to a tree and cut to pieces. The killings Egbema/Ndoni (ONELGA) Security Planning and threatened to shut down a factoring created tension in the area. Advisory Committee (OSPAC) in West LGA. In February, the police reportedly Figure 1: Incidents and Fatalities, Rivers State arrested members of a gang of kidnappers that recently abducted the Chief Executive 60Apr-17 7 11 Officer (CEO) of a company in the state. The May-17 10 23 50 suspects included the son of a police officer Jun-17 9 33 and the driver of the abducted CEO. 40 Jul-17 8 29 Criminality during the period involved Aug-17 23 3 violence affecting women and girls (VAWG). 30 For example, in January, a 19-year old girl Sep-17 7 11 20 was reportedly killed and her body dumped Oct-17 6 25 in a septic tank in Port Harcourt. 10Nov-17 5 38 Cult Violence: In January, seven people were 0Dec-17 6 14 reported killed during a gun battle between Jan-18 Dec-17 10 49 Jan-18 Feb-18 Mar-18 members of two rival cult groups in Andoni Feb-18 2 4 LGA. Incidents Fatalities Mar-18 1 0 Communal Tensions: In January, four persons were killed during a clash between Reported incidents and fatalities from December 2017– March 2018 in Rivers State. Gwara and Gwure communities in Khana Sources: ACLED and Watch formatted on the P4P Peace Map www.p4p-nigerdelta.org. NIGER DELTA MONTHLY CONFLICT TRACKER: RIVERS STATE, MARCH — APRIL 2018

Communal/Cult Violence: Two persons Figure 2: Conflict Fatalities by LGA Figure 3: Conflict Fatalities by LGA were reportedly killed during a clash (January - March 2018) between two rival cult groups in Rundele community, Emohua LGA. The clash 20 20Nov-17 35 3 0 0 occurred during a cultural hunting March (December18 Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni 2017-FebruaryOtherPort Fatalities HarcourtAndoni 2018) Dec-17 0 0 6 5 expedition. Following the clash, a group of Violent Criminality16 19Communal/Ethnic4 Violence 15Jan-18 19 4 4 0 cultist invaded the community and Gang/Cult14 ViolenceGang/Cult Violence 8 Feb-18 0 0 1 0 kidnapped a chief. The chief was released Communal/Ethnic12 ViolenceViolent Criminality 10 after a 1 million Naira ransom was paid to Other Fatalities10 10 Port HarcourtObio/AkporEmohua Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni 8 the kidnappers. Separately, five persons 5Dec-17 6 5 3 0 6 including a pregnant woman were reportedly April (January-MarchOgba/Egbema/Ndoni 2018)Andoni Emohua Jan-18 4 0 1 19 4 killed during a clash between people from Violent Criminality19 7 0Feb-18 1 0 0 0 Andoni and Bonny LGAs. Youths from one of 2 Dec-17 Jan-18 Feb-18 Mar-18 Gang/Cult Violence 8 Mar-18 0 0 0 0 the LGAs stormed a fishing settlement 0 Communal/Ethnic Violence occupied by indigenes of the other LGA and Port Harcourt Obio/Akpor Other Fatalities shot sporadically. 15 people were injured Emohua Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni Khana Andoni while 17 others were declared missing. Some Oyigbo residents believed that the killings is cult- Ikwerre related. Reported incidents by Local Government Area (LGA) in Rivers State this quarter shows that Ogba/Egbema/ Ndoni had the highest number of reported fatalities. Sources (Figure 2): ACLED and Nigeria Watch data Pr o gno s is formatted for the P4P Peace Map. Source (Figure 3): Nigeria Watch data formatted for the P4P Peace Map www.p4p-nigerdelta.org Reported incidents in the state during the period related mainly to criminality, cult Figure 4: Heat Map of Incidents and Peace Agents in Rivers State violence, communal tensions, and protests. Peace Agents should monitor the situation closely and respond appropriately.

Questions for Peace A ge nt s

1. Is anything missing from the tracker in terms of hotspots, trends, or incidents?

2. Which conflict issues are a priority for you (as P4P Chapter, Prevent Committee, or other stakeholder)?

3. What are some likely trigger events in Heat Map shows concentration of incidents reported from January–March 2018 in Rivers; with green stars the next 6 months that could escalate representing the registered Peace Agents. Source: All data sources formatted for the P4P Peace Map this conflict? www.p4p-nigerdelta.org

4. Who are the key stakeholders that have influence on the conflict? Report Incidents: IPDU Early Warning System Please report any verified incident of conflict to the IPDU SMS early warning system: 5. What will you do to help mitigate the Text: 080 9936 2222 conflict in the short, medium, and long Incident Details: Kindly include the State, LGA, Town, Date, and Brief Incident Description term? Inquiries: Afeno Super Odomovo, IPDU Research Coordinator Contact Us Telephone: 08172401595 Email: [email protected]

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