•Blows up NNPC crude, gas
trunk lines in Delta
•Elevates fighters to the rank of Brigadier-general
•Ijaw
youths give condition for dialogue By Emma Amaize, Regional Editor,
South-South, Egufe Yafugborhi, Perez Brisibe &Akpokona Omafuaire AFTER
blowing up additional gas and crude oil trunk lines belonging to the Nigeria
National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, in Delta State, in a twin
attack,
Thursday night, the Niger Delta Avengers yesterday issued a notice to the
Nigerian Military, International and Indigenous Oil Companies, IOCs, to watch
out for “something big.
” The fear was that the operation of the daring militant
group was about to become bloody and enter the phase of abduction, which it
warned about earlier. The double attack at 11.45 pm, Thursday, around Batan
community in Warri South-West Local Government had sunk the nation into deeper
economic quagmire. The latest attack came less than 24 hours after two Chevron
Nigeria Limited (CNL) facilities were hit reportedly grounding its swamp
operations in Delta. Apparently amused at the depression its activities were
causing the nation, the leadership of the group, in a statement by its
spokesperson, Col Mudoch Agbinibo, yesterday, announced the promotion of the
fighters, who carried out the devastating attacks to the rank of
Brigadier-General.
“To the IOCs, indigenous oil companies and Nigerian
Military, watch out, something big is about to happen and it will shock the
whole world,” the group tweeted before announcing that “the high command has
rewarded some brave and courageous soldiers of Avengers and promoted them to
the rank of Brig.General.
” The Avengers at 8.00 am, Friday, tweeted that it
attacked an NNPC Gas and Crude trunk line close to Warri, Delta State at about
11:45pm on Thursday. The tweet read: “At 11:45PM on Thursday, @NDAvengers blew
up another NNPC Gas and Crude trunk line, close to Warri, a pipeline that was
heavily guarded by the military.” Moments later, it dismissed the stakeholders’
meeting in Abuja on Wednesday between government officials and supposed
militants as an affront to the people of the region. The tweet read: “The Niger
Delta stakeholders meeting is an insult to the people of the Niger Delta.
What
we need is a sovereign state not pipeline contracts.” Earlier in the month
after the group bombed Chevron’s Valve Platform, it said: “This is just the
beginning and you have not seen anything yet. We will make you suffer as you
have made the people of Niger Delta suffered over the years from environmental
degradation, and environment pollution.
” Avengers’ spokesperson, Col Mudoch
hinted that the commander of its strike team 9 is from Eastern Nigeria, while
the commander of strike team 6 that blew up the platform is an Itsekiri and the
commander of the elite team one from Akwa Ibom State.
The group had also warned
owners and operators of oil blocs in the region to shut down their operations
and evacuate their staff latest May 26, saying “if at the end of the ultimatum,
you are still operating, we will blow up all the locations. It will be bloody.
So just shut down your operations and leave.” As at the time of this report,
attempts to speak with the NNPC spokesperson, Garuba Mohammad was fruitless, while security sources in the area were yet
to confirm the alleged attack. However, security sources confirmed a twin
attack by the group on Wednesday night. An official of the Ijaw Youth Council corroborated claims by the
militants that they attacked pipelines operated by the NNPC around Batan
community in Warri South West Local Government Area of Delta State.
The
Pipelines, Product Marketing Company and Nigerian Petroleum Development Company
Limited, both subsidiaries of NNPC operate the damaged pipelines. According to
a security source, both crude and gas trunk lines were severely affected in the
attacks. Locals in the affected community said they heard series of explosions
and people thrown into panic, as they did not know what was happening.
Speaking
on the incident, IYC spokesperson, Mr, Eric Omare, described the explosion as a
recurring incident that is getting out of control. He asserted: “It was at the back of Batan,
Warri South-West. I think the facility should belong to NNPC”.
A rights activist
and community leader, Comrade Sheriff Mulade, who is from the area, told
Saturday Vanguard: “We have not been
able to ascertain the exact point. An account says it was around Bennet Island,
another says it was Batan, we need to be very concrete with our information.
