Lagos - Oil workers in Nigeria's oil-producing Niger Delta went on strike Monday to complain about a lack of protection from militant groups who attack oil facilities and kidnap workers.

Several hundred employees of oil company Total picketed the company's office in Port Harcourt despite union officials delaying industrial action due to begin Monday, local media reported.

Militant groups often attack oil installations and kidnap expatriate workers in the Niger Delta, saying they are fighting for a greater share of profits from oil exploitation for the poor of the region.

Lagos - The former head of Nigeria's anti-corruption watchdog has been facing death threats and should be given protection from the government, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said Wednesday.

Nuhu Ribadu was removed from his position as the head of Nigeria's Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in 2007 shortly after the commission indicted a politician close to Nigerian President Umaru Yar'Adua.

Ribadu told the New York-based HRW that he had received telephone death threats and had shots fired at him in late September.