Detained film crew returns to Seattle

After being held for six days in Nigeria, four members of a Seattle-based documentary film crew arrived home Sunday, expressing hope their plight will call attention to what they called the destructive impact of oil production in the Niger River Delta.

"Things have got to change," Sandy Cioffi, 46, the director of the documentary "Sweet Crude," said during a news conference at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. She thanked U.S. officials for helping secure the group's release.

Cioffi, a film and video professor on sabbatical from Seattle Central Community College, was flanked by the three others in the crew: producer Tammi Sims, 35, and photojournalists Sean Porter, 25, and Cliff Worsham, 39. They left Seattle for Nigeria on April 5.

Also detained was Joel Bisina, a Nigerian American and founder of Niger Delta Professionals for Development in Warri, who was with the group in Nigeria. He also was released and remains in Nigeria.

Relatives and friends of the four crew members listened Sunday as Cioffi and the others recounted how they were taken captive at a checkpoint April 12 and held at gunpoint by Nigerian military officials while they were traveling by boat in southern Nigeria.

The crew members, held separately by Nigerian state security officials, described as psychological torture the uncertainty over how long they would be held and what might happen to them.

Cioffi said Nigerian officials don't want outsiders to know that oil production has resulted in destruction to the environment, including oil spills, as well as human-rights violations inflicted on those living in the Niger River Delta. She said military officials seized film from the crew.

Oil production that benefits Americans has led to military abuses, turmoil and corruption, said Cioffi, who has been working on the film project for several years.

Cioffi said Nigerian officials offered various "excuses" for holding the crew, including that they didn't have a special permit to work in the country. The crew, which previously has filmed in the country and is aware of the rules, had business visas and letters of invitation, she said.

Nigeria, Africa's biggest oil producer, remains deeply impoverished despite its natural bounty. Armed groups roam the region of creeks and swamps, stealing crude oil for resale and engaging in other criminal activities.

Some gunmen also launch militant attacks seeking to pressure the government to release their leaders and send more government-controlled oil revenues to the anarchic area. Their attacks have trimmed nearly one-quarter of Nigeria's daily crude output, helping to send oil prices soaring to historic highs in global markets.

Cioffi said third-party intervention is needed to bring about peace talks between the government and militants.

She praised U.S. Sen. Maria Cantwell for leading efforts to win the film crew's release, which included help from U.S. Embassy officials in Nigeria.

This story contains material from The Associated Press.

Steve Miletich: 206-464-3302 or smiletich@seattletimes.com