While for this month’s column it was my intention to focus on the wider issue of crisis management, the interest highlighted at a recent seminar hosted in conjunction with the Africa Business Centre (ABC) refocused my attention.
Taking into account the recent seizure of foreign nationals in Niger and Somalia and the three French nationals from the Bourbon Alexandre in the Niger Delta, the issue of kidnap for ransom remains topical for the sector.
And, of course, the death of aid worker Linda Norgrove in Afghanistan demonstrated the reality of a worst-case scenario.
While we consistently reiterate in this column, personnel operational – even in the most challenging security environments – are more likely to be the victim of petty crime or road traffic accidents than kidnap, this is a real risk and measures should be put in place to mitigate it and to manage the crisis should it occur.
Hanna-Caroline Imig, AKE’s Africa analyst and speaker at the recent event, said that “the energy sector is particularly affected because the territorial risk of kidnapping spreads as sectors of society in emerging markets become wealthier and foreign investors and project companies expand their operations.”
Indeed, the hotspots for this risk underlined in AKE’s Kidnap Report for the last quarter, include various energy-rich regions and key transit routes, not least the Gulf of Guinea, Nigeria, Colombia, the waters off Somalia and the Sahel Region (Mauritania, Mail and Niger).
Rates of kidnapping-for-ransom in Africa have risen annually since 2005 and the trend is set to continue in 2009/10.
Statistics for the most recent quarter make for interesting reading. Q3 2010 saw a decrease in the number of foreign nationals seized in Nigeria compared with the prior quarter. Figures now stand at one to two abductions per month from a high of two per week.
It is anticipated, however, that the period of political uncertainty and tension as we head towards Nigeria’s presidential elections will bring with it an increase in kidnap cases and indeed wider security concerns for those operating in the region.
Vessel operators are reminded that militant and criminal activity on the land may spill over into the rivers and waters off the Nigerian coast. Related piracy also continues to pose a considerable risk off the coast of Cameroon where six foreign nationals were kidnapped in September from a vessel in Douala harbour.
Hanna-Caroline went on to reiterate that preparatory and mitigation measures are therefore crucially important to the industry. Insurance policies and evacuation, training for working in these regions, pre-deployment briefings and emergency response training for office-based crisis management teams must be considered and, ideally, implemented as part of a company’s wider crisis management plan.
Of course crisis management and kidnap are intrinsically linked. Indeed, it is difficult to imagine a more testing crisis facing a company than the kidnap of an employee.
The harsh realties of managing such a crisis were brought home to the event’s attendees by John Chase, director of crisis response at AKE. Providing a rare insight into the mechanics of a response and negotiation, he presented footage and audio dialogue from a recent case that he co-ordinated to successful resolution.
Speaking after the event, John indicated that the human and often prolonged nature of a kidnap crisis require for a modification of planning, with a reduced, focused team.
He also reiterated the requirement to test crisis management plans, by way of desktop exercises – an effort that is currently often reserved for equipment malfunction or technical issue.
Claire Fleming is corporate relations manager at AKE. For a free copy of AKE’s latest Kidnap or Piracy Reports, please contact claire.fleming@ akegroup.com