***More oil facilities to be bombed
in N-Delta, other places —Avengers WARRI—The activities of Niger Delta
Avengers, the new militant group in the oil-rich region, have forced Royal
Dutch Shell to evacuate most of its staff from its production facility, Eja OML
79. This came as different security agencies and militants held separate
undisclosed meetings to re-appraise their tactics, following a fresh directive
by President
The staff and facility are
offered protection by two gunboats belonging to the Military Joint Taskforce.
Close to Eja 79 is the Bonga Field, which has a larger production capacity and
is operated by another Shell subsidiary, Shell Nigeria Exploration and
Production Company, SNEPCO. Sources said some staff had been evacuated from
Bonga, while the wider security implication is being reviewed by the company.
Last week, Niger Delta Avengers, blew up Chevron Valve Platform in Abiteye,
Warri North Local Government Area of Delta State. They had earlier in the year,
blown up pipelines in the state. Governor Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta State, who
spoke at the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, South-South governors meeting in
Asaba, condemned the recent attack on Chevron facility, adding that “gas
pipeline vandalism is very unfortunate.” Meanwhile, former militant leader,
Government Ekpemupolo, alias Tompolo, yesterday, said he had no apology to
offer to the Niger Delta Avengers, NDA, which, last Tuesday, issued him a
three-day ultimatum to withdraw his alleged denunciation of the group and its
violent activities. Also, Ijaw Youth Council, IYC, apex Ijaw youth
organisation, in a statement by its spokesperson, Mr. Eric Omare, threw its
weight behind Tompolo, maintaining that the militant group should not force him
to support their destructive mission, just as the Centre for the Peace and
Environmental Justice, CEPEJ, and Ijaw Peoples Development Initiative, IPDI,
condemned the resort to violence by Niger Delta Avengers. However, Itsekiri and
Ijaw leaders, Chief Ayiri Emami and Johnny Michael, who spoke to Vanguard on
phone, fingered an ex-militant leader for the bombings, saying the militant
group was acting his script. Tension in Niger Delta Also, fresh tension
mounted, weekend, in Delta State, as different security agencies met over President
Buhari ‘s order to them to crush the new militant group. It was gathered that
riverine dwellers in Gbaramatu Kingdom, Warri South West Local Government Area
of the state, wary of the danger activities of militants posed to their lives,
were relocating to Warri and other parts of the state, yesterday, to avoid
being trapped in a cross fire. On its part, the militant group seemed not ready
to backtrack from its vow to devastate oil installations in the region and
other parts of the country. A source close to the group said: “The boys are not
afraid of the security agencies, they will cripple oil and gas supply to the
country as long as government remains recalcitrant to their demands.” Last
month, spokesperson of the group, Col. Madoch Agbinibo, said: “The Presidency
can set up a permanent security force as stated by the Vice President when he
visited the SPDC, Forcados Terminal. We are not deterred by such threats and
shall continue blowing up pipelines until the Niger Delta people are no longer
marginalized by the Nigerian actors
.” Vanguard gathered that the Chief of
Defence Staff, General Gabriel Olonisakin, penultimate weekend, paid an
operational visit to Bayelsa State as part of on-going efforts to rid the Niger
Delta of pipeline vandals and crude oil thieves. Efforts to reach the Commander
of the Joint Task Force, JTF code named, Operation Pulo Shield, Major General
Alani Okunlola and Commanding Officer of NNS Delta, Commodore Raimi Mohammed on
the latest directive, proved fruitless. Tompolo Tompolo, who also spoke to
Vanguard through his Media Adviser and Consultant, Mr. Paul Bebenimibo said:
“He (Tompolo) will not apologize to them (Niger Delta Avengers). If not for his
current issues with the Federal Government, he (Tompolo) would have gone after
them and exposed them because they seem to make things difficult for him, as
the government is pointing fingers at him, but he cannot do anything in his
current situation.” He listed two prominent Itsekiri and Ijaw activists, both
stalwarts of All Progressives Congress, APC, in Delta State, who he said, “are
only looking for attention from the government, so they use the development to
seek relevance from the government, they may be behind these guys.” The
militant group in a statement by its spokesperson, Col. Mudoch Agbinibo, May 3,
was angered by Tompolo’s advice to servicing companies to go about their normal
operations, particularly repair of the Forcados Terminal 48-inch pipeline. The
group alleged Tompolo had “taken side with the Federal government to fight
Niger Delta people.” Two days after the ultimatum, the militant group on
Thursday, May 5, bombed the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC crude
and gas lines and Well D25 in Abiteye, a key gas well operated by Chevron
Nigeria Limited, CNL. Tompolo did the right thing — IYC IYC spokesperson, Mr.
Eric Omare, however, told Vanguard: “We do not see the justification in the
Niger Delta Avengers embarking on destruction of oil facilities because Tompolo
denounced the group.
I think Tompolo did the proper thing by coming out to
inform the entire world that he was not part of the Niger Delta Avengers when
there were insinuations to the effect that he was behind them. “As with other
cases of attack on oil facilities, the Niger Delta environment and people are
the ultimate victim and would suffer from these latest attacks. The IYC believe
that irrespective of the grievances, there are better ways of expressing them
rather than contributing to the further destruction of the already massively
degraded Niger Delta environment. On fresh directive by President Buhari to
security agencies to crush the militants, he said: “While the IYC does not
support the attacks on oil facilities, we hasten to add that it should not be
used as a justification to attack innocent Niger Delta communities.” You’re
causing more harm than good —CEPEJ National Coordinator of CEPEJ, Sheriff
Mulade, in a statement, condemning the bombings by Niger Delta Avengers, said:
“The deadly attacks have cut oil and gas production and caused attendant
devastation of the environment.” It asked the militants to “lay down their arms
as their activities were antithetical to the genuine agitation of the people
and the overall development of the oil rich region.” Stop bombing oil
installations—IPDI Speaking through its national president, Austin Ozobo, the
IPDI, yesterday, warned the Niger Delta Avengers to stop bombing of oil
facilities to avoid further harm to the nation’s economy. Faulting the recent
attacks on major oil pipelines in the country, he warned: “Those threatening
former agitator, Tompolo and the nation’s economy should desist from that.” He
advised those complaining of marginalization of Niger Delta, particularly the
Niger Delta to lay down their arms. N-Delta Avengers is non-existent — Ayiri
Itsekiri leader and activist, Chief Ayiri Emami, however, took a different
position. While he condemned the attacks by the so-called Niger-Delta Avengers,
which he said does not exist, he said: “The attacks are just to create a
platform for negotiation with President Buhari. “I know that Mr. President is
intelligent enough not to fall for just gimmick. Some of us volunteered to
cooperate with the security agencies free of charge to fish out the
perpetrators of these bombings, but the Delta State Government did not see
reason with us. They held a state security meeting asking why security agencies
were working with us. “They know the person directing his boys to do these
things and should bring them out.” Stop jeopardizing Gbaramatu indigenes —
Michael Ijaw leader, Chief Johnny Michael, who spoke in a similar vein, said:
“There is nothing strange or new in what is happening. It is what we are
already used to, but my worry is that these people should stop endangering the
life of Gbaramatu people.
“The people causing this havoc are known, the
security agencies should not compromise, they should have good intelligence
information to identify them and bring them to book. I also want to say that
they should stop calling the name of APC in this matter. APC is a progressive
party, anybody who wants to join the party should do so, but they should stop
blackmailing us.” He said that many Gbaramatu leaders know those carrying out
the bombings, but because of fear, they would not be able to speak out and
urged the security agencies to do their work. He noted that a “well known
ex-militants, who fed fat on the administration of former President Goodluck
Jonathan, cannot be ruled out in the renewed attacks on oil facilities,
imploring youths in the Niger Delta region not to allow themselves to be used
to cause havoc again. According to him, no wise Niger Delta youth was ready to
go back to the creeks, considering the pains they passed through during the
dark days of militancy. Saying that the Ijaws were not ready to be at loggerhead
with the Federal Government, Chief Michael, added that Ijaws were still licking
their wounds since the Nigerian Army destroyed their communities. He expressed
displeasure over the unabated bombimgs of oil facilities in the region, adding
that with the performance of the present government, he does not expect Niger
Deltans to go back to the creeks again. He said he was worried about the
insinuation in some quarters linking him to attacks on oil facilities and made
it clear that he was not and was never part of pipeline bombings in the Niger
Delta region, warning politicians, any person or group of persons not to
associate him with criminality.
Chief Michael, said he had no case with the
Economic and Financial Crime Commission, EFCC, just as he asked those who have
problems with the EFCC to go and solve their problems with the commission
without involving innocent people of the region. He expressed confidence in the
administration of President Buhari, urging Niger Deltans to support his
government as he is poised to develop the region to the delight of the people.
Also reacting to the attacks, the Foundation for Human Rights and
Anti-Corruption Crusade, FHRACC, said: “The ongoing oil war being perpetrated
by some groups in the creeks of Niger Delta is not the best option for the
region.” Its National President, Alaowei Cleric, said in a statement, “We have
passed the stage of destroying oil facilities to press home our demands
especially now that the main actors of the emancipation struggle have accepted
Presidential Amnesty. If anyone is not satisfied with the activities of the
present government, he should register his grouse within the ambit of the law.”
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