A Not so Happy New Year for Nigeria

Whilst the political crisis and rising death toll in Kenya is gaining global attention and absorbing the media’s attitude for stories from Africa, it’s a bloody New Year in Nigeria too.

Thirteen people died after armed militants attacked targets in Port Harcourt, Nigeria’s main oil industry town in the Delta.
The Niger Delta Vigilante Movement, led by militia leader Ateke Tom, has claimed responsibility for the attack. The group’s strongholds in the creeks surrounding Port Harcourt had come under military bombardment in recent days. Tom later threatened reprisal attacks on the oil hub, where the major western oil companies have bases.
The attacks have cut the country’s oil exports, standing at 2.5 million barrels daily, by more than 20% in the last two years, and have added to the upward pressure on global oil prices.