Wikileaks: Royal Dutch Shell Infiltrates Nigerian Government (guardian.co.uk)

[Mathnomalous]

http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2010/dec/08/wikileaks-cables-shell-nigeria-spying

The oil giant Shell claimed it had inserted staff into all the main ministries of the Nigerian government, giving it access to politicians' every move in the oil-rich Niger Delta, according to a leaked US diplomatic cable.

The company's top executive in Nigeria told US diplomats that Shell had seconded employees to every relevant department and so knew "everything that was being done in those ministries". She boasted that the Nigerian government had "forgotten" about the extent of Shell's infiltration and was unaware of how much the company knew about its deliberations.

The cache of secret dispatches from Washington's embassies in Africa also revealed that the Anglo-Dutch oil firm swapped intelligence with the US, in one case providing US diplomats with the names of Nigerian politicians it suspected of supporting militant activity, and requesting information from the US on whether the militants had acquired anti-aircraft missiles.

70% of Nigerians who live below the poverty line will be none too happy to read about this.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

It also goes on to say

Nigeria tonight strenuously denied the claim. Levi Ajuonoma, a spokesman for the state-owned Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, said: "Shell does not control the government of Nigeria and has never controlled the government of Nigeria. This cable is the mere interpretation of one individual. It is absolutely untrue, an absolute falsehood and utterly misleading. It is an attempt to demean the government and we will not stand for that. I don't think anybody will lose sleep over it."

 

[Mathnomalous]

This is a classic "he said, she said" situation, would you not agree?

This is the one I liked the most:

The cable concludes with the observation that the oil executive had tended to be guarded in discussion with US officials. "Pickard has repeatedly told us she does not like to talk to USG [US government] officials because the USG is 'leaky'." She may be concerned that ... bad news about Shell's Nigerian operations will leak out."

Diplomatic justice?

 

[Ivan Seeking]

This is a classic "he said, she said" situation, would you not agree?

I think it is a classic example of unfiltered intelligence, which is notoriously unreliable, but often inflammatory.

Note that we attacked Iraq, in the end, because of what Saddam wanted his neighbors to think. We couldn't tell the difference between his claims, and fact.

 

[Greg Bernhardt]

It's becoming hard to trust anyone these days

 

[Mathnomalous]

I think it is a classic example of unfiltered intelligence, which is notoriously unreliable, but often inflammatory.

You are correct here. But let us go back in time and revisit another RDS controversy:

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/09/business/global/09shell.html?ref=global

Royal Dutch Shell, the big oil company, agreed to pay $15.5 million to settle a case accusing it of taking part in human rights abuses in the Niger Delta in the early 1990s, a striking sum given that the company has denied any wrongdoing.

The announcement caps a protracted legal battle that began shortly after the death of the Nigerian activist Ken Saro-Wiwa in 1995. Mr. Saro-Wiwa, Shell’s most prominent critic at the time in Nigeria, was hanged by that country’s military regime after protesting the company’s environmental practices in the oil-rich delta, especially in his native Ogoni region.

Ten plaintiffs, including the son of Mr. Saro-Wiwa and his brother, accused Shell of seeking the aid of the former Nigerian regime to silence the critic, as well as paying soldiers who had carried out human rights abuses in the impoverished region where it operated.

Go back to the comment by the RDS Nigeria top executive:

The company's top executive in Nigeria told US diplomats that Shell had seconded employees to every relevant department and so knew "everything that was being done in those ministries". She boasted that the Nigerian government had "forgotten" about the extent of Shell's infiltration and was unaware of how much the company knew about its deliberations.

Interesting. How can it be verified that Levi Ajuonoma, a spokesman for the state-owned Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, is not in Shell's payroll?

 

[WhoWee]

I think it is a classic example of unfiltered intelligence, which is notoriously unreliable, but often inflammatory.

Note that we attacked Iraq, in the end, because of what Saddam wanted his neighbors to think. We couldn't tell the difference between his claims, and fact.

Ivan, the Avatar change was good for you - I've been in agreement with you all day long.

 

[WhoWee]

Interesting. How can it be verified that Levi Ajuonoma, a spokesman for the state-owned Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, is not in Shell's payroll?

I think Greg covered that...
"It's becoming hard to trust anyone these days "

 

[Proton Soup]

It also goes on to say

having access to information, and having control of the government are two different things. i believe the same sort of thing goes on in our own government, it's just a question of extent.