By Will Connors
Special to The Washington Post
Sunday, September 14, 2008; Page A21

PORT HARCOURT, Nigeria -- Uche was the triggerman for his gang of thieves. When gang members stole oil from pipelines or cellphones from passersby, he made sure no one got in their way.

Early this year, Uche, who gave only his first name, decided to look for legitimate work. After a few difficult months scraping by, he returned to stealing oil, this time with neighborhood friends. At night, they would travel up one of the hundreds of creeks outside the city to the pipelines, siphon off crude oil, and move it by boat to larger vessels and refineries outside Nigeria.

His former gang found out and came looking for him. They broke his fingers, which are still misshapen, and inflicted burns up and down his arms. "I'm trying," Uche said, tugging uncomfortably at his tattered gray T-shirt. "But it's hard to find work."

A chance at a better life has long eluded Uche and the many poor residents of this once-booming oil town. But a recent surge in kidnappings and other violence has brought hard times for the entire city, widening the vast gap between the few with access to oil money and the many without.

Foreign companies have relocated staff to Lagos, the commercial center, or pulled out of the region completely, and local residents have begun moving to less volatile towns or to their native villages. Merchants and small-business owners have lost customers.

"Economies do not thrive on fear," said Styvn Obodoekwe, a civil rights worker and journalist. "Shops that would have stayed open until 8 or 9 o'clock now close by 6, whether they have customers or not. Everyone is rushing home to avoid being attacked or hit by a flying bullet."

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