NPDC pipeline bombed by new militant group

Barely a day after it threatened to attack oil and gas installations within the upland part of the Niger Delta, a new militant group, Niger Delta Greenland Justice Mandate, on Wednesday reportedly blew up a major oil trunk line in Isoko area of Delta State.

The NDGJM had on Tuesday threatened to attack oil facilities located in the upland of the region, including the Warri and Port-Harcourt refineries, following alleged Federal Government’s failure to develop upland communities as well as include them in the ongoing dialogue with Ijaw militants.

The incident, which occurred at about 2am on Wednesday, left the pipeline which feeds the Eriemu Manifold, operated by Nigerian Petroleum Development Company in Ughelli North Local Government Area of the state, destroyed.

A military source at the 3 Battalion, Agbarho-Otor, confirmed the attack but refused to give details as the incident was being investigated by security agencies in the area.

The spokesperson for the group, Aldo Agbalaja, claimed responsibility for the attack in a statement issued late Wednesday evening.

It said the operation was carried out under its ‘Operation Zero’ which was  targeted at national assets even as it threatened more of such similar attacks in days to come.

The statement partly read, “The Central Operations Command of the Niger Delta Greenland Justice Mandate hereby announces the commencement of demolition and evacuation of the uplands tagged, “Operation Zero” to correct the wrongs that have afflicted our people for years, seek justice for the perpetually cheated and protect the identities of our people, who are co-owners of the wealth which Nigeria has forever misappropriated.

“As a mark of our seriousness and to prove we are people of our words, at about 0200hours of today; Wednesday, August 10, 2016, operatives of the Niger Delta Greenland Justice Mandate brought down a Major Trunk/Delivery Line from Isoko to the Eriemu Manifold in Urhobo, belonging to the NPDC/Shoreline Resources.”

The group also gave a strong warning to the NPDC not to commence repairs on the affected trunk line as it would not hesitate to attack its personnel.

“This is just a glimpse of what is to come; there are several assets already penned up for destruction. This line of action has been made inevitable by an unjust system, which only responds to the violent, to the detriment of the peaceful and law abiding,” the statement added.

Efforts by our correspondent to confirm the  incident from the zonal spokesperson for the NPDC, Mr. Ugo Atugbokoh, were unsuccessful as calls to his telephone line were not picked.

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Members of Boko Haram fleeing to Europe - Report

Boko Haram camps in the North-East have been hit with food scarcity thereby forcing indoctrinated members of the militant sect to continue to move out in droves, intelligence sources have said.

According to a Tuesday Daily Mail report, while some Boko Haram suicide bombers and militants were seen heading for Europe, others had begun to travel to join and fight for the Islamic State in Syria.

A source linked to Nigeria’s National Intelligence Agency was quoted as saying that, “They (Boko Haram refugees) will soon start showing up on the Mediterranean’s shores.

“Some of these people are trained suicide bombers and fighters, including children as young as 10. They have all been indoctrinated by Boko Haram and they could soon turn up in Europe’s capitals.”

Intelligence sources also reported that  human traffickers from the ISIS-backed terror group were transporting girls and young men across the Sahara into Libya.

The situation, they said, was even more worrisome because “five children are dying an hour with 250,000 at risk of starvation while parliament remains hamstrung in a political wrangle.”

The crisis is being blamed on the instability in the Senate attributed to the criminal charges pressed by the Federal Government against the Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki.

Daily Mail quoted an intelligence source as saying that Saraki’s prosecution had been obstructing his attempt to get the Senate to pass a motion to grant £215m in aid to tackle the emergency in the North-East.

He said, “This case needs a swift conclusion for the country to unite and tackle the very serious issues of famine, security and a stumbling economy.

“This famine must not happen on our watch. I have seen the plight of these people with my own eyes and it is desperate. The government is making every effort to ensure money is available to fully address this issue.”

He said the situation was not justifiable after Britain had committed to spending £860m foreign aid to Nigeria, to help support the country’s efforts to crush Boko Haram terror group.

The report quoted a British public health expert who has just returned from Borno region, Dr. Yodi Alakija, as describing the situation as an “international crisis.”

“The UN requires Nigeria to declare it a humanitarian disaster to get relief. This is not a time for politics or game playing. Five children are dying an hour every single day.

“This requires urgent action. We need people to drop their political differences and come together. They can fight later when the children are ok.”

The medic, who works for UNICEF, warned, “If we do not make adequate provision for these people there could be an exodus. That’s when Europe will panic and it will happen when people have nothing and take desperate measures.”

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See what shekau said in new video

Abubakar Shekau, the Boko Haram leader has vowed to fight Nigeria once again and extending his fight to the world. Shekau says he is not ready to fight his Muslim brothers but non-believers and people who Allah has ordained them to fight.

He however mentioned that he would never recognise Abu Musab Al-Barnawi as the new Boko Haram leader, but expressed his loyalty to Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, leader of Boko Haram affiliate, ISIS. What he said in the new video...

“I, Abubakar Ash-Shakawy (Shekau), the leader of Jama’atu Ahlissunnah Lidda’awati Wal Jihad, made it a duty for myself to fight Nigeria and the whole world. We have no desire to fight our Muslim brethren. I’m alive by the permission of Allah. Continue....

“Let the government of Nigeria and West Africa not celebrate or gloat over the division between us and our brothers….We will shock them with attacks never seen before, in no-distant time.

“They (the Abu Musab group) do nothing but to create division among our people without an iota of contribution to the jihad.

“This is time to fight; it is the time of jihad. We are not killing fellow Muslims. We are not calling Muslims non-believers. We fight and kill those who God has ordered to be fought, those we call non-believers are people so called by God.”

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Find Out What Boko Haram is Planning for Upcoming Ramadan - Nigerian Army Raises Alarm

The Nigerian army has issued a new warning about the plans of the deadly Boko Haram sect to perpetrate evil during Ramadan.

 

Boko Haram

 

The Defence Headquarters has raised the alarm that members of the Boko Haram sect were planning a large scale bombing during the Ramadan festival.

 

The Punch reports that the Acting Director Defence Information, Brig. Gen. Rabe Abubakar, said in an electronic mail on Saturday that the insurgents had a plan to carry out massive bomb attacks during early morning and evening prayers during Ramadan.

 

Abubakar urged religious organisations to take necessary security precautions during the period.

 

He also called on the members of the public to be on the watch out for strange objects and report all suspicious movements to security operatives for prompt action.

 

He said, “Information available to this Headquarters indicated plans by terrorists to use the Ramadan period which usually attracts gathering of large number of persons during morning and evening worships and prayers to carry out large scale bombings.

“Against this background, the Defence Headquarters wishes to once again advice the general public to be watchful of strange persons and objects in their localities particularly, around places of worship and to promptly report same to security agencies.

“It is further to advice that adequate security and surveillance be evolved by respective places of worship to forestall any unwholesome acts by some unscrupulous elements.

“The DHQ wishes to reassure law abiding citizens to go about their normal businesses while efforts are being made to eliminate the remnants of the terrorists from their hideouts as well as addressing other security challenges in the country.”

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EXPECT MORE BOMBINGS IN NIGER DELTA – Joseph Evah

PRESIDENT Muhammadu Buhari has been advised to embrace dia­logue to resolve renewed insurgency in the Niger Delta which has led to attacks on oil pipelines and facilities by militants.

While urging the President not to listen to bad advisers and hawks in his cabinet who are allegedly urg­ing him to use force to subdue the militants, Evah said military option would exacerbate the situation.

In this interview with SATUR­DAY SUN, Evah also spoke on other national issues including the role of South-south governors in the crisis, the region’s relationship with the North, Amnesty Programme and a host of others. It was conducted by TUNDE THOMAS. Excerpts:

What is your view about the resurgence of militancy in the Niger-Delta because many Nigerians believed that with the Amnesty Pro­gramme initiated in 2009, that lasting peace had re­turned to the region?

It is unfortunate that many Nige­rians didn’t know that all along, we have been sitting on a keg of gun powder in the Niger-Delta.

What you have in the Niger-Delta has been a peace of the graveyard. Although it is true that Amnesty Pro­gramme is in place, but how many people will that programme benefit out of millions of our people whose daily lives and means of livelihood are being destroyed by oil explora­tion?

Niger-Delta people have been re­silient – the suffering have been too much, and unfortunately oil compa­nies operating in the region have little or no feelings at all for the people.

Unfortunately those people that are inhabitants of Niger-Delta would have looked up to for succour, that is the state governors are cowards. They can’t face the oil companies and tell them the bitter truth that the people are suffering as a result of ecological damage to their environ­ment and businesses. It is unfortu­nate that these people we elected to represent our interests are the same set of people that have compromised.

The oil companies have little or no respect at all for these south-south governors because even some of them use to go and beg for money from the oil companies, and in turn the oil companies treat our governors as house boys.

What happens when you have no­body to do your battle, you then re­sort to self-help, that is exactly what is responsible for the renewed mili­tancy in the Niger-Delta.

The people of Niger-Delta, both the young and the old, most espe­cially the youths had expected the governors of the south-south to mobilize the people to demand for improvement in their environment. Most of these youths have been to Lagos, Abuja, Kano and other cities, and having realized that most of the developments you have in this places were carried out with proceeds from sale of crude oil got from the Niger- Delta, they become angry that the region which produce this wealth has been neglected.

Our people in Niger-Delta live in abject neglect. Our angry youths who are now involved in this renewed militancy want Niger-Delta region to be developed – they want the oil rich region to look like Dubai, New York, Paris and host of other beautiful cit­ies across the world. Although as el­ders, we have been advising them to shun violence and embrace dialogue in channeling their grievances to the appropriate authorities.

Are you saying that the state governors in the Niger- Delta should have confront­ed the oil companies …?

Cuts in … No. We are not saying that. Do they need to confront any­body to demand for the rights of their people? No. The demands of the Ni­ger-Delta people are legitimate ones. Is it not the greatest of man’s inhu­manity to fellow human beings that your operations in my environment is causing a lot of damage, and you are not making any moves to amelio­rate the situation?

Go to the Niger-Delta today, see people are living in squalor, and yet this is an oil-rich region. Even oil ex­ploration has destroyed farming and fishing which used to be major occu­pation of the people.

There are some obvious insults which we don’t expect the governors to take from the oil companies. For instance, while these oil companies pay tenement rates to the federal gov­ernment, they neglect the land own­ers from whose land they get the oil. There are other instances, and some of these people have built up anger in our youths.

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