Private Security Companies of Nigeria - Case Study Example

Nigeria: Private Security Companies Nigeria is located in western Africa on the Gulf of Guinea, between Benin and Cameroon. The delta of the Niger River constitutes the southeastern portion of the country (and is the major source of the countrys number one commodity, oil). It is also a region of considerable civil violence as local militias fight the central government and the trans-national oil companies, lead among them Shell, operating in the region. Nigeria is Africas most populous country. It was granted independence from the British empire in 1960. It was under military rule from 1983 to 1999, when a new constitution was adopted and a peaceful transition to civilian government occurred. The last eleven years are its longest period of civilian rule since independence. Nigeria continues to experience longstanding ethnic and religious tensions. Both the 2003 and 2007 presidential elections were marred by significant irregularities and violence. However, the general elections of April 2007 marked the first civilian-to-civilian transfer of power in the countrys history. In January 2010, Nigeria assumed a non-permanent seat on the UN Security Council for the 2010-11 term. (Central Intelligence Agency, 2010) Nigeria, Africas most populous country, is composed of more than 250 ethnic groups; the following are the most populous and politically influential: Hausa and Fulani 29%, Yoruba 21%, Igbo (Ibo) 18%, Ijaw 10%, Kanuri 4%, Ibibio 3.5%, Tiv 2.5%. (Central Intelligence Agency, 2010) The Fulani, Muslim, are concentrated in the north of the country on the southern edge of the Sahara desert. The Igbo are concentrated in the Niger delta. (Central Intelligence Agency, 2010) Map 1: Nigeria in Africa Map 2: Nigeria Nigeria struggles, only more so, with the issues that afflict less developed countries throughout Africa and the world. Less than 70% of the population is literate. On a per capita basis it has the worlds third highest level of people living with AIDS and the third highest AIDS death rate. As a result of this, poverty and other endemic diseases life expectancy is below 50 years. Fully 70% of the population live below the poverty level. (Central Intelligence Agency, 2010) The government has an unhealthy reliance on the largest sector of the economy, oil production. It “provides 95% of foreign exchange earnings and about 80% of budgetary revenues.” (Central Intelligence Agency, 2010) It is capital intensive and controlled by trans-national companies. Also, it means the economy is dependent on international oil prices and global production levels, both entirely beyond the control of the national government. This situation, coupled with endemic corruption throughout the government and bureaucracy and civil violence throughout the Niger delta lead Transparency International to rate it as one of the most corrupt and unstable countries in the world. (Transparency International, 2010) Due to local opposition to the transnational oil companies and local demands for a greater share of the employment and revenues from oil production civil violence and attacks on the oil production facilities and infrastructure in the Niger delta are common. In response the oil companies employe private security companies to protect their assets and employees. That said, officially, private security companies (PSC) are not permitted to operate in the country. According to Nicolas Ibekwe, a Nigerian journalist this is patently, and obviously untrue: “The Niger Delta is crawling with British and American private paramilitary companies providing security services for clients in the oil and gas industry, in clear violation of Nigerian law, according to a weeks-long investigation by Next.” (Ibekwe, 2010) Recommendations to national government 1. The national government must immediately move to address the farcical assertion that PSCs do not operate in Nigeria by officially acknowledging their presence. 2. The national government must immediately order the national military to desist cooperating with PSCS until appropriate protocols for cooperation have been developed. 3. The Minister of Defense must immediately meet with the Chief of Staff, the force leaders of the army, navy and air force, an other relevant government officials and senior commanders and address the issue of PSCs in Nigeria, the governments official acknowledgment of their presence and the need to develop protocols for cooperation between the Nigerian military and PSCs. 4. The national government must immediately announce that any PSCs planning to operate in Nigeria in the future must be signatories to the “International Code of Conduct for PSCs” signed in Geneva on 9 November 2010. (Nebehay, 2010) 5. The national government must immediately announce that any PSCs determined to be operating in violation of the “International Code of Conduct for PSCs” anywhere in the world will be prohibited from operating in Nigeria in the future. 6. The national government must immediately announce that any PSCs operating in Nigeria must maintain an office in Nigeria and not rely on offices in neighboring countries. 7. The national government that PSCs operating in Nigeria cannot attempt to mask their involvement in Nigeria by operating as sub-contractors to approved PSCs or other companies operating in Nigeria such as trans-national oil companies, while denying their direct involvement in Nigeria. 8. The national government must announce that any PSCs that attempt to use third-parties to mask their involvement in Nigeria will be prohibited from operating in Nigeria in the future. 9. The national government must announce that any PSCs involved in bribery or otherwise employing or fostering corruption and corrupt practices will be banned from future operations in Nigeria. Recommendations to legislature 1. The legislature must immediately announce that any PSCs planning to operate in Nigeria in the future must be signatories to the “International Code of Conduct for PSCs” signed in Geneva on 9 November 2010. (Nebehay, 2010) 2. The legislature must immediately initiate a process of national reconciliation around PSCs. 3. A multi-party commission of the legislature must be formed to investigate the history of PSCs operating in Nigeria. This committees activities must include public consultation with stakeholders in the Niger delta, particularly the local population. 4. A second multi-party commission must be immediately formed to develop policies regarding the future operations of PSCs in Nigeria. This must include consultations with all stakeholders including the Nigerian military, PSCs, their employers (notably transnational oil companies) and the local population. 5. The national legislature must develop a process for all PSCs to submit an annual report to the national legislature detailing their compliance to “International Code of Conduct for PSCs” signed in Geneva on 9 November 2010. (Nebehay, 2010) Recommendations to the military 1. PSCs frequently claim they work in partnership with the military Joint Task Force, the Nigeria defense forces known by its acronym JTF and which has primary responsibility for security in the area” of the Niger delta. (Ibekwe, 2010) The military must immediately address these assertions publicly and deny that they are permitted. 2. The military must immediately launch an internal investigation to confirm if these reports are based in fact. 3. The military must immediately move to punish, transfer and/or remove any officers that collaborated with PSCs while they were banned from operating in the company. 4. The military must immediately develop protocols for cooperating with PSCs operating in Nigeria. These protocols must include rules on everything from intelligence sharing to use of force. 5. The military must develop and enunciate policies and procedures that formalize their relationships with PSCs operating in Nigeria. 6. These protocols must provide a groundwork for productive interactions while restraining both the military and the PSCs from actions that risk injury to the local population and protect their property. Recommendations to civil society 1. Paramilitaries, militias, rebel organizations and all others involved in attacks on assets such as oil rigs and pipelines,and personnel involved in the oil industry must immediately suspend their operations 2. As stakeholders civil society must participate honestly, openly and in good faith in all commissions and inquiries involving past, present and future operation of PSCs in Nigeria. Recommendations to private security companies 1. PSCs frequently claim on their websites to be operating in Nigeria, even working “in partnership with the military Joint Task Force, the Nigeria defense forces known by its acronym JTF and which has primary responsibility for security in the area.” (Ibekwe, 2010) Such claims violate Nigerian national law and should be immediately removed from the websites, promotional materials and all media communications of PSCs 2. PSCs that have operated in Nigeria in the past, or are operating in Nigeria at present, must prepare reports outlining their operations, their assets and their employers in Nigeria and provide them to both the national government and the legislature. 3. It is recommended that PSCs planning to operate in Nigeria immediately establish national offices in Nigeria 4. Operating from these newly established national offices all PSCs must cooperate with all efforts of the national government and legislature to clarify the role of PSCs in Nigeria and to develop regulations governing their future operations in Nigeria. Recommendations to the international community 1. The international community must immediately endorse the recently developed “International Code of Conduct for PSCs” signed in Geneva on 9 November 2010. (Nebehay, 2010) 2. The United Nations must immediately develop an agency capable of overseeing the operation and enforcement of the “International Code of Conduct for PSCs” signed in Geneva on 9 November 2010. 3. Countries that are home to PSCs – notably the United States, the United Kingdom, France and Russia – must develop national regulations governing the operation and ethics of PSCs headquartered in their countries. 4. The aforementioned regulations must include meaningful sanctions and penalties for PSCs that violate the laws of the countries they are operating in and international regulations such as the “International Code of Conduct for PSCs”. References Abramson, Rita and Michael C. Williams. (2005). The Privatization of Global Security: Country Report, Nigeria. Prifysgol Aberystwyth University, Cardiff, Wales. [online] available from [1 December 2010]. Avant, D.D. (2005). “Private Security Companies”, New Political Economy, 10 (1) Brayton, S. (2002), “Outsourcing War: Mercenaries and the Privatization of Peacekeeping”, Journal of International Affairs 55 (2) Brooks, Doug. (2000). “Messiahs or Mercenaries? The Future of International Private Military Services”. International Peacekeeping: Managing Armed Conflicts in the 21st Century 7 (4) 129-144. Brooks, D., (2000) “Write a cheque, end a war: Using private military companies to end African conflicts” Conflict Trends, No.1. Central Intelligence Agency. (2010). “CIA World Factbook: Nigeria”. [online] available at [30 November 2010] Foreign and Commonwealth Office (2002) Private Military Companies: Options for Regulation, London, HMSO. [online] available from [1 December 2010]. Francis, D. (1999), “Mercenary Intervention in Sierra Leone: Providing National Security or International Exploitation?”, Third World Quarterly 20 (2) Hanlon, M and Singer P. (2004), “The Humanitarian Transformation: Expanding Global Intervention Capacity”, Survival 46 (1) Ibekwe, Nicolas. (5 December 2010). “The Mercenaries Take Over”. Next. [online] available from [5 December 2010] Leander, A. (2004) Eroding State Authority? Private Military Companies and the Legitimate Use of Force, Rome: Report Prepared for Centro Militare di Studi Strategici Lokuji, Alfred Sebit, Abraham Sewonet Abatneh and Chaplain Kenyi Wani. (2009) Police Reform in Southern Sudan. The North-South Institute: Ottawa, Canada. [online] available from [1 December 2010] Musah, Adel-Fatau (2002), “Privatization of Security: Arms Proliferation and the Process of State Collapse in Africa”. Development and Change 33 (5) Nebehay, Stephanie. (9 November 2010). “Private security firms sign global code of conduct”. Reuters. [online] available from [30 November 2010] O’Brien, Kevin. (2000) “PMCs, Myths and Mercenaries: the debate on private military companies”. Royal United Services Institute Journal 145 (1) 59-64. Shearer, David. (1998) “Outsourcing War”, Foreign Policy, 112 68-81 Spearin, Christopher. (2001) “Private Security Companies and Humanitarians: a Corporate Solution to Securing Humanitarian Spaces?” International Peacekeeping 8 (1) 20-43. Taulbee, James Larry. (2000) “Mercenaries, Private Armies and Security Companies in Contemporary Policy”. International Politics 37 433-456. Transparency International. (2010). “Corruption Perceptions Index 2010 Results”. [online] available from [30 November 2010]. 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