THE Niger Delta Avengers (NDA), on Friday, again wreaked havoc on oil facilities in the Niger Delta.
The militants’ economic sabotage, this time round, was carried out in Bayelsa and Rivers states where the group said on its website,that its strike force had bombed Nembe 1,2 and 3 crude oil trunklines.
The group did not, however, mention the operators of the trunklines, but added that the attack was carried out between 3:00a.m and 5:00a.m suspectedly on Friday.
“At about the hour of 3am to 5am, the Niger Delta Avengers blew up Nembe 1, 2, and 3 trunk-line in Bayelsa/River States,” the group, in the post signed by its spokesperson, Brig. Gen. Mudoch Agbinibo, disclosed.
Spokesperson for the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), Desmond Agwu, was said to have confirmed one of the attacks.
According to reports, Agwu said the attack took place at Lasukugbene, adding that one of the pipelines is operated by Agip in Rivers State.
Agwu was said to have further disclosed that operatives of the NSCDC engaged the militants in a shoutout after the attack on the oil installations.
The Avengers, in the post, also warned the public to be wary of frauds impersonating it on social media.
“We are still using this medium to warn the general public of impostors of Facebook accounts. Niger Delta Avenger is not on social network anymore,” it insisted.
Meanwhile, a non-governmental organization, Center for Peace and Environmental Justice (CEPEJ), has condemned the continued militarisation of the Niger Delta region.
The NGO said the region has been turned into a battle ground as a result of confrontations between the military and adamant militants.
The group also expressed worries over the degradation of the region by pipeline vandalism orchestrated by the nefarious activities of the rampaging militants and the exploration and exploitative activities of the multinational oil companies.
In a statement signed by its national coordinator, Comrade Sheriff Mulade and made available to Saturday Tribune in Warri, Delta State, the group said “it will shock the public to know that well over 75 riverside communities are adversely affected as a result of the unabated bombings by militants, illegal bunkering and oil theft as well as the failure of the multinational oil firms to adopt environmental best practices.”
The NGO believes that the Federal Government’s reprisals on militants will further bastardise the region as the environment is the only heritage of the people and explains that the future generation will suffer greatly if the environment is completely destroyed.
The centre also carpets the International Oil Companies (IOCs) for starting the militarisation of the region when they engaged military personnel to man key and strategic facilities, thereby “using force to get what rightly belong to the people from them.”
It therefore reiterated the call for the Federal Government to engage critical stakeholders in constructive dialogue, saying it is the only way to resolve the simmering conflicts and restore enduring peace and security to the region.
