Deadliest Roads | Nigeria | Free Documentary

so [Music] [Music] uh [Applause] day and night it's the same melody that is playing in kotonu the deafening noise of thousands of small motorbikes throughout the city [Music] in benin the motorbike is king it's used to carry just about everything including serving as a tanker for a few dollars these daredevils can transport as much as 700 liters of fuel per trick [Music] sometimes there are accidents when we fall off the petrol spills it can catch fire the human bombs are carrying black market petrol that's sold in illegal and makeshift service stations there are thousands dotted across the country how much do you want oh two liters is fine the prices are remarkably competitive how much is it 325 francs which is about 60 cents a liter the low prices are effectively undermining the market no one other than state employees buys from the large multinationals anymore madam rose owns one of the small and thriving service stations they sell two liters of petrol for about a dollar ten me i sell it for 55 cents even less than 50 cents sometimes the illicit trade costs the government an estimated 40 million dollars a year in tax but they put up with it since it provides a livelihood for a quarter of the entire population the government would like to see us disappear but it'll never happen since too many people would be thrown out of work too many families depend on the business before it reaches the likes of mrs rose and benin the petrol has caused some men to die and made others rich and damaged large parts of nigeria the world's seventh largest producer of oil every day thousands of litres of fuel stolen from the refineries crosses the border between the two nations the superior quality of nigerian petrol has attracted all the top oil companies but also the gangs of thieves ready to risk all as they siphon off fuel from the refinery pipelines in the dead of night it belongs to all nigerians today the niger delta has become africa's wild west hey who's brought the whitey's here this is my heartbeat nigeria's crude oil is so pure that it's easy for the smugglers to refine it using old-fashioned methods this is what we have at the end of the day this is [Music] because this is not job this is this is life and death so many people die from this job [Music] the rush for black gold is slowly polluting not just nature but humans too [Music] oh i love destroying everywhere oh it's not a blessing at all that it is a cause to evade the police the smugglers hide their illegal refineries in the heart of the mangroves a marine jungle so thick it's virtually impenetrable the boat's heading for the black smoke that betrays the presence of a camp hundreds are hidden in this maze meeting one of the gangs but the guide morris isn't happy it's a dangerous area the smugglers keep a careful eye on access to the mangrove and the boat is soon forced to stop when we start talking you off it please huh wait off it please what's the camera doing here [Applause] why did you bring the white guys here it's gonna ruin our business you don't have the right to everybody everybody feels they shouldn't stop this business this is the only place they make money from so if this place is exposed it becomes a problem so they just don't want anything that will expose the business without me escorted to the next village by the smugglers who want to make sure we really do leave the forbidden zone a few years ago there were only farmers in bolo but when the rush for black gold began they soon abandoned their fields and became smugglers money poured in and concrete palaces replaced the small wooden shacks and the village streets were paved belmer has been a petrol dealer for almost five years virtually let's see if i'll put it into percentage like 60 percent of the people here into the business palmer agrees to give us a tour of his refinery this time we travel by night to avoid being seen by the other smugglers you after now you have to so that he can be able to see the direction we are going to the lights you see it's where people are refining their products those are dumpsters people are walking in the knife after half an hour the refinery comes into view the scene is almost surrealistic the smell of burning petrol is overwhelming the crude oil stolen from the petrol companies is refined in an archaic yet efficient manner these are the cooking pots that's where the crude oil is i'm trying to put in lots of wood inside come come come come we just try to commence the process of getting our foil our petrol our kerosene and our it dessert in exactly the same way as a still the oil is heated for about six hours and the boiling steam passes through a system of tubes to a section where it is cooled and this is the coolant this hearts wear hearts once cooled the steam resumes its liquid form and has turned into petrol it comes out in droplets be careful careful this is real dangerous you see you see you see it's coming out in droplets this film that comes out can ignite at any point any spark of light any spark of fire it ignites so at this stage we are very very careful many have been killed when they're still exploded this is what we have at the end of the day this is dessert 20 liters of crude oil will produce about 10 liters of petrol this is what we get at the end of every production this is the end product this is what we sell to people in those big badges after work they sleep like this they're sleeping there it's so steady they're so steady they're sleeping the men who labour to keep the refinery working round the clock earn the equivalent of 15 euros an hour three times the average wage in nigeria [Music] um in camp the only luxury is a generator suppliers light current everything that's why we are charging our phone here morning's breakfast is boiled beans for everyone [Music] the camp's taking it easy the crude oil has run out woken up the people are waiting for the oil to come so anytime from now we're waiting for the tide to to rise when the tide rides the loading boat will be able to come in the last few litres of crude are refined while they wait most of these laborers work in the nude as the petrol vapors would seep into their clothes which could easily catch fire and turn them into human tortures it's dangerous work but profitable in fact there's so much demand that belmer has set up new containers for the crude oil as his camp is too small he's cleared a few more square meters of forest using a radical method there's so much humidity that the fire will only burn for a short while enough though to have cleared an additional acre of forest [Applause] [Music] [Applause] when belmer eventually does abandon his refinery the jungle will have a hard job growing back as the ground is now soaked in oil [Music] even though we arrived when it was dark it hasn't taken the other smugglers long to detect our presence we're coming white man we want our part go away there will be blood here them hey when you leave with the white guys we'll be waiting for you on the way once again it's time to leave in a hurry the nigerian military have been trying to put an end to the trafficking almost from the day it started but there are simply too many of them and it's an impossible task in a mangrove that's several thousand square miles right now we are in the mangrove forest it's good for our business because the terrain is difficult it's very hard for someone to trace you into this place you know there are so many meanders so it's difficult for the government to come find us see how difficult the terrain can be you see it's more like a cave a dead end where you think you've lost your way and if you're not careful you don't know the road you know don't know the the sea routes you just get lost and that's why we have to just do this business around here because it's place is very secretive it's concealed it's a hideout and yet the mangrove swamps are slowly dying choking to death by the petrol that's being poured into the niger the waters become thick and sticky the plants and trees are covered in a layer of crude oil that is poisoning them the smugglers aren't the only ones to blame for more than 50 years the oil business has been responsible for some 200 000 tons of crude oil being released into the delta every year the equivalent of a massive oil spill among the first victims are the [Music] fishermen victor witnessed the first drilling near his own village he was back in the 1960s as the number of oil wells multiplied the number of fish disappeared in equal measure he's the last fisherman left in the village because of the pollution there's nothing left to fish it's hard to find anything to eat here all the fish have died only some shrimps like bees survive in these kind of waters that's not just me that's suffering it's the whole village [Music] fifty years ago the villagers welcomed the oil companies with open arms there was jobs and money to be had [Music] the mayor of bodo never thought it would turn the region into a living hell [Applause] we have cancer of the skin we have you know because of this contamination water contamination yeah there were economic problems there were social problems there were environmental problems the speed destroy all the natural resources of the people including fish sales fish animals and even human that is there for it destroyed their means of library whole there was no means of survival in the community because the community depends on water for the economic life level there is no job because people cannot go to fishing again they can't go to farm again because the oil have destroyed everywhere oil is not a blessing at all the night is a course the oil seeps into everything [Music] a few years ago mr doe the head man in a small village was forced to reach a dreadful decision he ordered all 400 inhabitants to evacuate abandoning their homes and the lands of their ancestors i want to show you the water we're drinking you can see the water this is the entrance to this street this creek in the past the village women came here to collect the water but the well soon filled with oil having seeped into the water table but look at how oil you can use it for cooking you can use it for for for washing they find it difficult to stay here no water no light nothing hunger there's no food for them to stay here and feed this is the entrance to the to my father's compound my grandfather's compound look at it this is where the village was all this place i'm showing you is where the village was there is no benefit we don't benefit anything in our village in this our area we don't benefit we don't get anything the people who are rich are becoming more poor are coming poorer now every day according to the authorities oil has reduced life expectancy for those in the region to just 40 years compared to 60 for the rest of nigeria unable to fish or cultivate the land many farmers have headed to the slums around port harcourt the largest nearby city the niger delta is slowly but surely being deserted but some have decided to fight back to survive the villages of okrika still fish for a living with one notable change they've exchanged their nets for buckets [Music] they've become sand fishermen it's exhausting work filling a barge takes more than 100 dives in the cold water bringing up 40 kilos or more each time [Music] daniel age 52 now makes his living from sand which he sells to cement factories he makes just 150 euros a month before we have enough fish in the water but because of current situation of oil pollution in the water i cannot get fish to sell even at the rate of 500 naira since there's no job for me i'd rather i decided to do this one to have my daily bread daniel has been fishing for sand for 15 years he could make three times as much by running an illegal refinery but has always refused to do so i'm a smart guy and i have the strength i don't think because of the bad condition of our nation that i should fold my hand and tie my hand to what the manner to fall from but this that is why i choose to find myself in this condition [Music] uh the dream i have is that one day god will make things possible for his children because we are suffering [Music] it takes two men about three hours to fill a barge it's delicate work as the sand fishermen defy the laws of physics they deliver the sand to port harcourt a hazardous trip if engine pass would speed then the boat will sink you lose everything all your effort all your strength all your equipment in the booth all lost it would take a miracle for the fish to return but in daniel's village prayers are said every day [Applause] [Music] daniel lives with his wife and three children in a cramped house with just 150 euros a month he can't afford anything larger but he's proud to show his kids he earns his money honestly i work for their living yes are important to me i struggle to make sure i take care of them i feed them every day when he goes to work i would pray then i'll sleep i'll not be afraid because it's not easy enough for one to enter inside the water and come out that is why i'm afraid in any way i don't even pray that my son should find himself into that condition so that is why i sent him to school i am praying that my son should be more than a mother should be educated more than me i know he's working hard for us to be something to be a future leaders tomorrow i encourage you you people by going to school to learn more things they have to work hard enough for them to become the doctor that they need to be [Music] his one day off daniel spends in church he prays he'll have the strength to resist the call of dirty money [Music] we begin to act well we begin to behave well from the lowest level to the highest level so that the nigerian society will be a happy place to live in the name of jesus christ because there's nothing we don't have in nigeria there's no resource we don't have in nigeria we have all resources resources and resourceful people to manage these resources that we are not getting anywhere because our leaders they come into governance just to serve themselves instead of serving the people and when you talk they shout you down and that is why we are suffering in the means of plenty our young men that are involved in oil bunkering is because they don't have any meaningful jobs to do and when they see how the political class is mismanaging the oil money everybody wants to benefit from it either by hook or crook [Music] despite the death threats we've received from some of the oil smugglers we're back to see belma he's allowing us exceptionally to tag along as he and his team steal oil from the big refineries it goes without saying it's a highly dangerous operation going daytime will incur so many so many disadvantages in that the military people will be out there securing the property because you know quite alright that it's an illegal thing there's no way of knowing where we are going to load up with the crude oil that is belmont's secret the danger about it is right some drivers can be some good drivers can be very risky there's the fact that you might not know the road very properly you might not know the route very properly and if you don't know it too properly you might there might be a headlong collision and life can be lost that way the other threat is from military patrols but using force to escape isn't necessary as belmer has a magic pass do you have to do that we pay this ambulance we pay the military people so that you can get your consignment and go safely if you don't pay them they get you and they arrest you you go to houseboat they might take you from there and put you in cell the pipeline to the refinery is a few kilometers further on on land that belongs to this he's man siphoning off part of the flow of crude oil which he sells to the smugglers in the area this is the owner of this point he walks here he was able to open the manifold he belongs to him you can see the manifold is right there you now line this horse to the water here some of the precious fuel means diving the mud hides the opening [Music] this is this is where you line the product the product now goes into the boat so now what they do is right from the manifold as i told you earlier on they try to break it off and they fixing their own host you see the pressure you see the pressure see the pressure see so this is a crude oil this is what we come to buy most of the traffickers have no tanks or containers so they simply fill the small boats to the look at the brim they want to know you want to know you so the people of this place have to chase them away so at the moment it belongs to the people of this land it takes less than 10 minutes to fill it with 5 000 liters subsequently some other boats will come they will load for the night they'll do this till about 3 a.m before the close for the day because it's already getting to daylight the boat now filled with oil is road back there's no question of risking an explosion from sparks from their ancient outboard engines [Music] belmer is selling an increasing amount of fuel he needs large quantities of crude oil so he's had a huge barge built it was filled the previous night but it's so heavy that it takes three days to reach the campsite that contains 10 thousand liters consider what we have in the arena of our business so in the spread of our business this one is a very big one he's smoking on top of the badge i'm telling him to put off the cigarettes the barge weighs about 100 tons and whenever there's the slightest current the small engine the struggles is against us so we're doing everything to make sure that we tie it up so that we can live and come when the tide is okay for us at dawn the next day the men are already at work a few problems and a morning's navigation later the barge finally reaches the camp there are more illegal refineries in nigeria than anywhere else in the world the main reason is that its oil is easy to transform into petrol what we have here is bonnie light this food is known as bonnie is the light specimen we have in nigeria why this is the best is because it has less impurities when you you refine this it doesn't take you too long for you to begin to get your end products how much money is that how much money yes i'm sorry we don't disclose that no no each month for thousands of illegal refineries steal the equivalent of four large tanker folds of petrol [Music] our part in two hours time will finish this is the line that it could passes yes pass to the pots there's it it's all right entering inside almost as soon as it's stopped the refining process begins not all the laborers are illiterate peasants some like belmar who has a geography degree or amaya who's reading geology have studied for years at universities finish school good job so the only thing we got to do we have to find something for ourselves but we are going to struggle we are going to struggle to survive so this is the only way we can struggle to survive there is no job look at me i'm a graduate no job because this is not job this is this is life and death so many people did die from this job it's very danger so we don't like it to do we don't like it to do this kind of job because it's very dangerous there's nothing to do that's why we suffer ourselves and do it [Music] hello it's it's been bought outside we take it to the ships the ships will now will supply them to the ships the ships will now collect them onward to kotunu and a republic that's where i end [Music] the petrol will be transported 600 kilometers to the border [Laughter] it's a no man's land between nigeria and benin where the fuel traffickers have created an illegal port that never stops working [Music] the business is now so well organized that there's someone responsible for the arrivals as well as for dealing with the authorities he receives a commission for each can that's unloaded and part of the money is used to bribe the customs officials i mean they know what they're gonna build there's a large amount of fuel that arrives from nigeria i couldn't tell you exactly how much since it comes in from everywhere around here but it's easily 1 000 trucks gauging the extent of the traffic is impossible but what is certain is that the activity on the border never stops antoine is employed by one trafficker and comes here every day to load up with petrol his small motorbike is unable to make the climb from the port when fully loaded so he makes two journeys [Music] and the bike will catch fire antoine loads up 14 cans about 700 liters of fuel it's a near miraculous balancing act would tip over [Music] [Music] bye i use the little paths to avoid customs and that way i can get to the paved road here having avoided them all together antoine earns about five euros a day which is nothing considering the risks he takes on every trip one time i fell off the motorbike caught fire but luckily i wasn't hurt [Music] antoine is indeed one of the lucky ones usually a fall while carrying a full load of petrol spells disaster every year 10 or so small transporters die on the roads [Music] after 20 kilometers antoine reaches his destination district but you can't come with me since the people down there don't like being filmed antoine has made six trips a day every day for the past three years he survived not just because of his driving skills he enjoys a little supernatural protection too by offering gifts to the voodoo gods [Music] oh [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] the small-time players in the black gold rush are just part of a much larger illegal trade it has been polluting and destroying the niger delta for the past 50 years the major oil companies are equally responsible for the human and ecological disasters caused by unchecked oil spills into the environment according to the experts the curse of black gold will continue to pollute nigeria for decades to come they predict there are enough oil reserves to keep the oil companies and the smugglers busy for another 50 years [Music] [Music] [Music] you

Channel: Free Documentary

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Keywords: Free Documentary, Documentaries, Full documentary, HD documentary, most dangerous roads, most dangerous journeys, worlds most dangerous roads, worlds most dangerous journeys, deadliest roads, deadliest roads in the world, dicing with death, deadliest journeys, dicing with death Nigeria, most dangerous roads Nigeria, deadliest roads Nigeria, dangerous Nigeria, deadliest journeys Nigeria, Nigeria

Id: _OfHGtSkZG8

Length: 49min 28sec (2968 seconds)

Published: Sun Apr 04 2021