Man dies in Nigeria oil protest

By Anna Borzello
BBC correspondent in Lagos

Three years ago hundreds of women occupied the oil installation

One person was killed during the occupation of an oil terminal in Nigeria's southern Delta region on Friday, the military says.

Hundreds of men and women stormed the installation, operated by the Nigerian arm of US giant Chevron Texaco.

Regional Army Commander, Brigadier Elias Zamani told the BBC he believed the man had been shot by his own side in the confusion.

However, the demonstrators said at least two protesters were killed.

Several others were still missing, they said.

A local journalist told the BBC that 12 youths had also been admitted to hospital in the nearby town of Warri.

The protesters from Ugborodo village, deep in the creeks of the Delta, invaded Escravos terminal on rafts just before daybreak on Friday morning.

It is not clear what happened next, although all sides admit that the police and military swiftly moved in to push the villagers out.

The area is now calm, and the demonstrators have been asked to address their grievances through talks with elders, state government officials and oil company representatives.

In July 2002, hundreds of women from Ugborodo occupied Escravos for several weeks in an attempt to force the oil company to provide jobs and development projects for neighbouring villages.

Chevron Nigeria Limited ended the protest by promising to meet many of the demands.

But two and a half years on, the villagers say that the company has still not honoured its pledge.

Frequent protests

Community protests are common in the Delta, which is underdeveloped and marginalised despite its mineral wealth.

This is the second time in three months that a community demonstration has ended in violence.

Last November, youths from Ojobo in neighbouring Bayelsa state invaded an oil rig operated on behalf of the Nigerian arm of the Anglo-Dutch oil giant Shell.

Fifteen men were injured when soldiers guarding the installation shot at the protesters.

Villagers later showed journalists the graves of eight youths they said had been killed in the confrontation, but the security forces deny there were any deaths.

Shell is now investigating the incident.