The group Niger Delta Avengers (NDA) on Wednesday revealed a plan to attack off-shore oil facilities “within days”, raising fears of a repeat of a 2016 wave of violence.
In a statement on its website, NDA spokesman Murdoch Agbinibo, said: “This round of attacks will be the most deadly and will be targeting the deep sea operations of the multinationals”.
The militants said they would attack critical oil and gas facilities, especially in the deep ocean bordering Nigeria.
To the NDA, Nigeria’s restructuring is panacea to poor leadership. It lashed out at the military for killing notorious kidnapper and waterways robber Kareowei, ”after securing his surrender”.
Another reason the group gave for its impending action is that it wanted to “control our resources”.
It lambasted the Federal Government for what it called ”double standards”, saying it failed to see the myriad of woes and discomfort staring the people of the Niger Delta in the face but “wasted no time to devote $1 billion to finding peace for the Northeastern part of the country.” The government has since explained that the money to be taken from the excess crude account is to take care of general insecurity in the country.
The NDA said there would be no room for considering any plea from Niger Delta elders.
“This round of attacks will be the most deadly and will be targeting the deep sea operations of the multinationals, which include Bonga Platform, Agbami, EA Field, Britania-U Field, Akpo Field; amongst others littered across the deep waters of the Niger Delta region. As for the Egina FPSO, we are advising the operators to let it stay wherever it is right now as we are tracking its movement. We mean it when we say they (the oil installations) shall dance to the sound of the fury of the Niger Delta Avengers. Good a thing the ocean is wide enough to accommodate as many wrecks as possible.
”On the 15th of January 2018, being the 62nd historic remembrance day of the 1956 discovery of commercial oil by Shell Darcy in the now forgotten and dejected Oloibiri Community in the Niger Delta; the high command of the ND Avengers summoned a meeting of all our operatives from across the Niger Delta to review the progress of our operations so far and deliberate on the planned actions for the future.
“It was agreed in that meeting that the killings and division presently playing out in Nigeria along divergent grounds makes this the perfect time to restructure this country. While promising a brutal outpour of our wrath, which shall shake the coffers of the failed Nigerian nation, our demand unambiguously is for the government to “RESTRUCTURE THIS COUNTRY”.
“That we have not achieved any meaningful results despite the opportunities we have availed the Niger Delta elders means that they are either irresponsible or the Nigerian government is not sincere with them as it is their trade in stock. Because of the above, we have resolved not to listen to the Niger Delta elders as we unravel our New Year package to the failed Nigerian state this time around.
“We want to control our resources and directly use them to better our lot instead of being enslaved and made to beg before crumbs are released in a dress rehearsal-like manner to intervention agencies that are ineffective at addressing our challenges.
”Only a few days ago the Nigerian Army released 244 members of the murderous Boko Haram sect to Borno State Government while thousands of innocent Niger Delta youths continue to suffer in various prisons across the country for no just cause.”
The statement went on: ”It is on the above premise that we are demanding the immediate release of all Niger Deltans activists and freedom fighters that are held captive by the Nigeria Armed Forces. The extrajudicial cold blooded murder of Kareowei and 20 members of his gang by the Nigerian Army after deceiving them with amnesty offer is very unprofessional
”Let the Kareowei issue be a lesson to all freedom fighters across the Niger Delta never to fall for the antics of the insincere Nigerian Government; put the fear of death aside and fight till the last drop of blood whenever you are engaged in a gun duel with the Nigeria Army as it is this same path we have chosen to glory. Again, the Niger Delta Avengers wish Nigeria a doomed 2018; courtesy the skilled hands of our fierce and smooth operatives across the Niger Delta”.
