The rebels have demanded a sovereign nation for the Niger Delta people and have claimed other attacks in the region.
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In a statement, the army said it had exchanged gunfire with militants attacking a crude pipeline run by Italy’s ENI, hours after a group called Niger Delta Avengers militants claimed another strike against oil facilities.
The militant group has set May 31 as a deadline for oil companies to vacate the area. Some of the residents of the Niger Delta region where most of the country’s oil is produced have sided with the terrorist group.
However, analysts are anxious that consistent attacks on Nigeria’s oil pipelines by militant, forcing companies to evacuate workers from deep-waters, may not end soon. “NDA just blew up the Escravos tank farm main electricity feed pipeline”, it said.
“The Avengers may not be a defined group of people, except for a core of maybe 100-150 people or so”, said Steffen. In recent days, facilities belonging to the Dutch-British Shell company, Italy’s Agip, and the USA oil giant Chevron have been targeted. The group has made certain demands and has threatened that the repairs sould not be carried out until and unless their demands are met. When Chevron tried to resume operations, the group attacked again.
In Feb, Royal Dutch Shell plc RDS.A – operating in Nigeria since 1937 – declared force majeure (or legal indemnity allowing it to stop shipments without breaching contractual obligations) on exports of crude following the bombing of the Forcados subsea pipeline. Shell, ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP), and Total are also considering to divest their assets in the Niger Delta. It is on record that the Niger Delta region has shared cordial relationship with our brothers from the north from time immemorial, and thus it will be foolhardy for anyone to insinuate that the agitation is a ploy to destabilise a northern presidential mandate. Oil production has dropped to a 20-year low.
He added that President Muhammadu Buhari needs the support of every Nigerian, big and small, at the moment for the country to be better.
While the government on one hand has deployed troops to the region to forestall further attacks, it is also reaching out for dialogue with the militants to ensure a lasting solution to the crisis.
With that, attacks have persisted as funding for amnesty programs waned, and numerous militants have been arrested or killed.
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The scheme had funded cash benefits and job training to militants who have laid down their arms but has been cut by the government by two-thirds.
