Seattle Filmmaker Sandy Cioffi was detained by the Nigerian military for documenting government repression in the oil-rich Niger Delta. Photo by Luke McGuff
While oil companies destroy the land and rivers in the Niger Delta, one film crew goes to film the truth.
On April 13, 2008 the four members of the Sweet Crude documentary crew were detained at a military check point, but charges were never made clear and possibly never filed; something which violates international law and basic human rights.
At a forum held at the University of Washington May 19, members of that crew, their lawyer, a Nigerian peace mediator, and a local Nigerian reporter discussed the many issues surrounding their detention.
Sandy Cioffi, Joel Bisina, Katrina Anderson, Sowore Omoyele, and Tom Rhodes spoke at the forum. Cioffi and Bisina were two of the four people detained by the Nigerian military.
Each non-citizen had a visa, which allowed them to work in the country and stated what their purpose was.
"We were on our way to my old village," said Bisina, who is a longtime peace mediator and founder of Niger Delta Professionals for Development, "to speak to my mother as part of the documentary." When they reached the checkpoint along the river, Bisina said they were asked where their "security pass" was.
There is no such thing.
Communication at that moment was primarily through Bisina, who spoke the language. The men who stopped them told Bisina a security pass allowed you to take white people into the creeks.
Cioffi, who has made previous trips to the west African country ["Citizen Diplomacy: Seattleites to build relationships in oil-rich but ravaged Nigeria," Nov. 16-22, 2005], stated this was a bogus excuse to stop what they were doing.
"Plain garden-variety harassment," said Cioffi. "They were afraid we were going to find out things."
Cioffi also said they pretended to showconcern for the safety of the Americans, asking how well they really knew Bisina. The military men claimed they were worried he had kidnapped them. "It was clear none of us were thankful to them for saving us from any kidnapper, and there were three of us and one of Joel," said Cioffi.
Trying to pit the crew's members against each other would continue on into their imprisonment. The attempt failed miserably and the detainees made it out alive, and more determined than before. It took some work by the state of Washington and 14 U.S. representatives, including Maria Cantwell, to get the Nigerian military to release the detainees.
Tammi Sims was one of those arrested. Prior to the start of the forum, which she did not take part in, she said it made her question how dedicated she was, and it only showed her she felt even more dedication to the project.
Everything was confiscated from them. They were given five minutes to grab what they wanted, but instead, said Cioffi, they thought about all the things they should destroy so no one they loved or knew would get hurt, and to ensure their own safety as much as possible.
"We had to destroy sensitive information so we cracked DVDs, destroyed cameras and flushed contact information," she said.
One main question raised during the forum was given the strong ties between Nigeria and the United States, why isn't the U.S. speaking out against these blatant human rights violations?
The crew's explanation: Nigeria is a main supplier of oil. In the 1950s, prior to the discovery of oil in the region, the Niger Delta was a place of pristine jungle and crisp waters where fish and wildlife were abundant. Today, it is severely polluted, leaving the locals in miserable living conditions.
Forum speaker Omoyele, who runs the Sahara Reporter, stated that the government of Nigeria is in denial. "Nigeria is under occupation by the oil companies, and it is on behalf of yourselves," he said. "They're doing it because of gas."
In the U.S., there is little to no coverage of the Niger Delta, perhaps because the climate there is so hostile toward media inquiries. In 2007, 86 journalists were killed, 887 were arrested, and 1,511 were attacked or threatened.
The making of Sweet Crude will continue despite 15 hours of footage being destroyed by the Nigerian military. Cioffi said they will use internet chats to re-tape as many of the interviews as they can. "I think taking unnecessary risks is irresponsible and I don't think we did that," said Cioffi. "I would do it again." But, she added, the crew cannot safely go back to the delta.
Omoyele says Nigeria is due for a revolution, and until that happens, things are not going to get better. "The people don't necessarily want to drive SUVs, they just want to enjoy the fish in the lakes," he said.