Nigerian Youth Employed to Guard Oil Pipelines

The Nigerian government has employed an estimated 12,000 young people to protect oil and gas pipelines in the Niger Delta.

Nigerian petroleum minister Diezani Alison-Madueke announced that the youth would patrol some 5000 km (3000 miles) of pipeline to stop it from being vandalized.

She stated it was part of the government amnesty program offered to the region's militias who were fighting for a greater share of oil revenues.

Criminal gangs and locals often try to pierce the pipes to extract oil.

Alison-Madueke's announcement comes after the death of two people last week in Sapele, Delta state, during an explosion at a pipeline damaged by villagers trying to steal the oil.

Local residents of the Niger Delta, home to Nigeria's oil industry, have benefited from the area's oil wealth.

According to BBC News, "Nigeria is Africa's largest oil producers, but attacks by militants on oil installations led to a sharp fall in output during the last decade."

The thousands of fighters who surrendered their weapons in a government amnesty in 2009 were promised training and jobs.

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By Hazel Lorraine