Lagos (Platts)--11Mar2008

Nigerian special forces in the troubled Niger Delta oil region swooped on
the hideout of a notorious militant group Monday and uncovered a secret
armoury owned by the group's leader Ateke Tom.

The Tuesday edition of the Punch newspaper reported that the raid took
place in Okochiri in the southern Rivers State.

Tom leads the Niger Delta Vigilante Movement, which has been involved in
series of bloody gang battles and attacks in Port Harcourt, Nigeria's oil
capital, that has left dozens dead.

JTF spokesman Lt-Col Sagir Musa told the paper the swoop followed an
earlier raid in December that drove Tom out of the area.

The insurgency began in early 2006 as a bid to gain control of oil
resources in the impoverished region. But it has been taken over by criminal
gangs who kidnap oil workers, children and politicians for ransom.

The violence has reduced Nigeria's oil output by 1 million b/d,
contributing to the rise in global prices.