The Niger Delta Avengers said on Wednesday it had bombed two oil wells operated by USA energy group Chevron in Nigeria’s oil-rich south, in the latest militant strike against production.
Advertisement
The group announced the latest attack via its Twitter handle Wednesday morning, saying it blew up Chevron oil wells RMP 23 and RMP 24.
Their string of boastful claims on the success of their attacks included taunting the Nigerian military, by posting that they appear to only be effective in harassing innocent Nigerian civilians.
Following spates of militancy attacks on gas pipelines in the Niger Delta region, Nigeria’s export of Liquefied Natural Gas, LNG, has dropped to 22.3 percent.
Local officials and Western allies such as Britain had told Buhari that moving in troops to the Delta was not enough to stop attacks, which have cut Nigeria’s oil output to a 20-year low.
“The state of this couple from Ayakoromo community in Burutu Local Government Area of Delta State is still unknown at the time of issuing this statement”.
Senator Enang who appreciated the people and youths of Akwa Ibom State for maintaining peace in the Niger Delta, also pleaded with them to extend their peaceful gesture to other parts of the region. The group said that it had warned the company of not carrying out repairs at the Okan oil platform, but as the energy giant did not follow through, they attacked its other facility. Production of oil in Nigeria has plummeted from 2.2 million barrels of oil a day to now 1.4 million barrels of oil in a day largely due to the terrorist campaign.
The Niger Delta leaders called on the group to lay down their arms as no developmental effort could yield any positive result in an environment of violence.
The most affected is Nigerian National Petroleum Corp., the state enterprise that is losing 200,000 barrels a day.
The attack also comes less than a day after the deadline imposed by the NDA for all foreign oil companies to leave the Niger Delta. The Kaiama Declaration and the effects of the Odi and Gbaramatu invasion by the Nigerian military are still fresh in the memories of the people and thus a repeat of these atrocities on the people will not arguer well for this administration as we would not want a repeat of these acts which accompany some form of genocide.
But President Muhammadu Buhari ruled out negotiation with the group on Tuesday, vowing that the government will not negotiate with “criminal elements”.
According to a United Nations Environmental Programme report released in 2011, Ogoniland has suffered catastrophic environmental damage that will take 25-30 years to clear up.
According to him, they sponsor their allies in the communities to continue to destroy pipelines in order to get more fix works.
“Some prominent ex militants of the Niger Delta region promised hell if their brother, then President Goodluck Jonathan, did not win the 2015 election”.
Advertisement
“We shall apprehend the perpetrators and their sponsors and bring them to justice”, Buhari said.
