• Another group threatens to shut down Nigeria’s airspace, orders troops to vacate N’Delta
• We will not negotiate with Avengers, CDS Vows House backs military action in oil region
Our Correspondents
The constant attacks on oil and gas
installations took a turn for the worse yesterday, when the Niger Delta
Avengers (NDA) blew up two more pipelines in Bayelsa State and vowed to
bring Nigeria’s oil output to zero.
Yesterday’s attacks by the rampaging
militants, who have claimed responsibility for the recent wave of
attacks on oil installations in the Niger Delta, came on the heels of
another one suspected to have been carried out by the same group on Wednesday
evening on a houseboat stationed at Ijere community in Warri South
Local Government Area of Delta State, where the group engaged Nigerian
troops in a gun battle, killing two soldiers and four civilians.
The houseboat was operated by the
Nigerian Petroleum Development Company (NPDC), the exploration and
production subsidiary of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation
(NNPC).
This was just as a new militant group,
the Joint Niger Delta Liberation Force, threatened to launch missiles
to shut down Nigeria’s airspace and the country’s satellite system by Tuesday next week. It also ordered the Nigerian Armed Forces to vacate the oil-rich region within 48 hours.
Sources, who opened up on the attack
on the houseboat at Ijere, said other than the six persons who were
killed, some soldiers were also believed to be missing.
Security sources told THISDAY that the militants struck when the soldiers least expected it.
“Some militants suspected to be the
Avengers attacked a houseboat stationed at pipeline junction at the back
of Ijere community. The militants came through Omadina creek in the
Itsekiri axis. During the exchange of gunfire, the houseboat sank while
the army recorded casualties. The militants escaped through the Omadina
community axis.
Following the attack, it was gathered that two soldiers and four civilians died instantly.
Sources disclosed that the civilian
casualties – two females and two males – included a 26-year-old caterer
identified as Tombra Iwoboibi, who were support staff on the houseboat
at the time of the incident.
The corpses of the soldiers and civilians were seen at Central Hospital, Warri by THISDAY.
The Public Relations Officer of the hospital, Mrs. Success Obere, confirmed that the bodies were deposited at midnight on Wednesday.
A relation of one of the civilians, Mr. Richard Ebianyaidou, confirmed that his brother, Tombra, was a caterer on the houseboat.
He pleaded with the federal government
to wade into the crisis in the riverine areas of the state, lamenting
that the innocent people like his brother were losing their lives.
Confirming the Ijere incident later
yesterday, the Nigerian Army said the NPDC houseboat stationed at Ijere
junction was attacked by suspected armed militants.
According to a statement signed by the
Assistant Director, Army Public Relations, Captain Jonah Unuakhalu, the
suspected militants approached the houseboat at 5.50 pm in five speedboats mounted with 250 horsepower engines and disguised as normal commuters.
He said that during the deliberate
attack, two soldiers were killed, one wounded, one soldier went missing
while four civilian staff attached to the houseboat were shot dead.
The attack, he said, occurred when other members of the troops were on pipeline patrol.
“The brigade condemns the attack on
our personnel carrying out their constitutional duties and other
innocent staff. The brigade will not be deterred by such dastardly acts,
but will remain resolute in discharging its constitutional duties,” he
added.
Captain Unuakhalu stated that those
who carried out the criminal acts would surely be sought, apprehended
and brought to justice, and implored all law abiding citizens to go
about their normal business.
After the attack in Ijere, the NDA laid claim to bombing two oil pipelines in Bayelsa State yesterday.
The group, in two Twitters posts, said the bombing was carried out at about 2am yesterday.
It equally vowed to ensure that the country’s oil production is reduced to zero.
It identified the pipelines blown up as those between Ogboinbiri and Tebidaba and Clough Creek to Tebidaba.
It said: “At about 2.00 am today @NDAvengers blew up the Ogboinbiri to Tebidaba and Clough Creek to Tebidaba Crude Oil pipelines in Bayelsa State.
“This is inline with our promise to
all international oil companies and indigenous oil companies that
Nigeria’s oil production will be zero.”
New Group Threatens Mayhem
Meanwhile, a new group, the Joint
Niger Delta Liberation Force (JNDLF), has vowed to launch six missiles,
shut down Nigeria’s satellite system and enforce a “no flight” zone
within the country’s airspace from Tuesday next week.
The group, which claimed it is working
closely with the deadly NDA, also gave the Nigerian military 48 hours
to quit the region or face extermination.
The JNDLF made the threat in a
statement sent to journalists in Yenagoa, Bayelsa yesterday. The
statement was signed by ‘General’ Akotebe Darikoro, Commander, General
Duties; ‘General’ Torunnanaowei Latei, Creeks Network Coordinator;
‘General’ Agbakakuro Owei-Tauro, Pipelines Bleeding Expert; and
‘General’ Pulokiri Ebiladei of its Intelligence Bureau.
THISDAY could neither independently
verify the source of the e-mail nor the authenticity of the new group,
but several other militant groups in the region have emerged in the same
manner in the last few years.
All the missiles it was deploying, the group said, were capable of bringing down any aircraft no matter how big or potent.
While accusing Buhari of deciding to
break the country by his actions, the new group noted that its Joint
Revolutionary Council (JRC), which it claimed is the highest organ of
all the freedom fighting bodies, had endorsed a 15-point agenda.
Many of its fighters who were trained
abroad, the group claimed, had already arrived the region from training
and are yearning to put their new skills to work.
“After extensive and exhaustive
deliberation by all commanders of various groups in Yenagoa, the heart
of the Niger Delta struggle met last night, and as part of our mission,
we are going to test six of our missiles in the region.
“This is to show the federal government of our readiness for the American prediction.
“There should be no any (sic) form of helicopter to fly around in the region as we will not guarantee the safety of such object.
“The people of the Niger Delta region
should not panic in the course of test running the six missiles. We may
also decide within the week to shut down the Nigerian satellite orbit,
so that there will be no communication in the country if the need
arises,” the group threatened.
It warned that within its three days
of operations, no airplane should fly out of the country because the
missiles could target such objects without warning.
“Our fighter expert teams, which have
already arrived the region from training through our country’s porous
borders with our foreign partners who are going to showcase what they
have learnt in the past one year, shall be positioned in the six Niger
Delta states,” it said.
While issuing a stern warning to the
Bayelsa State Commissioner for Information Jonathan Obuebute to stop
threatening militants in his statements, the group noted that its
“struggle” was not targeted at shedding human blood.
The group added: “But we have been
pushed to the wall for justice because our patience is running out on a
daily basis as Nigerian uniformed men kill our innocent people
continuously.
“The Nigerian military should as a
matter of urgency leave peacefully the Ijaw communities they are
presently in, in the next 48 hours under the guise of searching for the
Niger Delta Avengers (NDA) or else we should not be blamed for whatever
catastrophe that may befall such officers
“We have consulted our war gods
(deities) that enough is enough and that the time has come. Since the
present Pharaoh of Nigeria, President Buhari, is to preside over the
disintegration of the country, it is a good omen.”
It said henceforth, any attack on Ijaw
communities or persons by the military or paramilitary forces in the
region, would be met with a shoot-on-sight order of any personnel in
uniform in the region.
“We ask all service chiefs, including
the Minister of Defence to shamefully resign their positions because
Nigeria has no security in whatever form,” it said.
The JNDLF also said its foreign marine
crack team had shut down Nigeria’s “obsolete” surveillance equipment
which the security operatives were using in monitoring activities in the
waterways.
“For the record, the Niger Delta
Avengers (NDA) are not in Delta State, we only go there to strike and
return back safely to the struggle base, Bayelsa State.
“We further warn especially Mr.
Jonathan Obuebite, Information Commissioner in Bayelsa State not to
criticise our activities any longer or else he has a choice of leaving
the planet earth anytime he makes such statement(s).
“All oil and gas operations should shut down immediately as our missile testing will affect their equipment.
“Note (that) we shall commence missile testing on Tuesday 7, June 2016
which coincides with the date of our training abroad. We promised
Nigerians and the entire world that we are going to surprise them,” the
group vowed, echoing a warning earlier issued by the NDA.
CDS: No Negotiation with Avengers
Despite the threats by the militant
groups in the Niger Delta and unending attacks on oil and gas
facilities, the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), General Gabriel
Olonisakin, yesterday said the Nigerian Armed Forces would not negotiate
with them.
Olonisakin spoke at the inauguration
of 10 highly-militarised Honker Scorpion vehicles, which are to be
deployed to bases across the country in line with the Nigerian Air
Force’s new Base Defence Concept (BDC).
Olonisakin, who was in the company of
the Chief of Air Staff (CAS), Air Marshal Sadiq Abubakar and Air Officer
Commanding (AOC), Logistics Command, Air Vice Marshal Sani Ahmed, said
the military’s defence architecture was still intact.
Stressing that the military would
rather enforce than negotiate with the NDA, he said the military would
also not relent on cracking down on members of the Indigenous People of
Biafra (IPOB).
On IPOB, he said: “There are better
ways to air their grievances than the way they go about it. The right
way is to get the necessary permit and protest. If they are violent, we
will not take it lightly with them.”
Speaking on the newly acquired
vehicles for base defence, he said: “The vehicles commissioned today
were procured specifically for the purpose of enhancing the security of
our air assets within the area of their deployment.
“The equipment is certainly geared
towards raising and maintaining the capability of the regiment troops as
they contribute to our collective efforts to address the various
security challenges confronting our nation.
“I must commend the CAS for this
strategic initiative of providing troops with adequate equipment and for
undertaking numerous other projects which culminated into actualising
his vision for the NAF.
“I will like to say that I am very impressed with the CAS’ achievements within the short period he has been in office.
“The procurement of these Honker
Airfield Defence vehicles is a testimony of the importance the NAF
attaches to protection of its critical assets and force protection.”
Still on the NDA, the air force chief said: “Constitutionally, the NAF was established to provide security for all Nigerians.
“We will operate within that constitution to ensure that all citizens in the Niger Delta region and Nigerians are safe.”
Speaking on the procured vehicles and
the Base Defence Concept, he said it was necessitated by the 2013 attack
on the air force base in Maiduguri, Borno State.
House Backs Military Action
Also wading into the Niger Delta
crisis, the House of Representatives has thrown its weight behind the
ongoing military action targeted at stopping and apprehending the
militants in the region.
The spokesman of the House, Hon
Abdulrazak Namdas, briefing newsmen yesterday, commended the military
for its role in safeguarding the country from threats of aggression.
He disclosed that the Defence
Committee of the House had visited the Niger Delta region to ascertain
the extent of vandalism on oil and gas facilities and assess the
security situation.
“We are very comfortable with what the
federal government is doing, and we would support the government to go
ahead with what they are doing. We hope very soon these issues would be
addressed,” he said.
He also advocated that multinational
oil firms operating in the region should make arrangements to secure
their facilities by involving the indigenes.
The House at plenary yesterday also
directed its Committees on Human Rights, National Security and
Intelligence to investigate the reported extra-judicial killings of
unarmed civilians in the South-east and South-south states by security
forces on May 30, 2016.
Security agencies had opened fire on
members of IPOB and Movement for the Actualisation of the Sovereign
State of Biafra (MASSOB) who held processions to mark Biafra Day in
both geopolitical zones.
At least 37 lives were reportedly lost to the clashes between pro-Biafra sypathisers and security forces.
Deputy Minority Leader of the House,
Hon. Onyema Chukwuma, in a motion raised as matter of urgent importance,
expressed concern at the spate of extra-judicial killings by security
agencies in Nigeria.
The trend has continued despite the outcries, investigations and wide condemnation, he said.
Citing the constitution, which
guarantees the right to freedom of association, expression and peaceful
assembly, Onyema stressed that the rule of law and respect for the
rights of citizens were cardinal ingredients for the survival and
consolidation of democracy.
He listed the consequences of what he
described as the high handed engagement to include feelings of
alienation, marginalisation and subsequent escalation of confrontational
tendencies and resistance to the state.
“Nigeria’s dismal human rights records
are largely predicated on unprovoked widespread and forceful
engagements of our security agencies on unarmed civilians,” he said.
Speaker of the House, Hon. Yakubu
Dogara, referred the matter to the committees without debate by the
lawmakers. But a minute’s silence was held in honour of those who died.
The decision not to debate the matter may not be unconnected to the sensitive issue of the pro-Biafra rallies.
Interestingly, nowhere in the deputy minority leader’s motion, were the words IPOB, MASSOB or Biafra mentioned.
At the height of the pro-Biafra protests in 2015, a motion on the matter was quietly withdrawn on the floor of the House.
The committees are expected to submit their reports in two weeks.
L-R: Former Chairman Executives Council, FNSB, Chief OluFalomo,
Nollywood Actress,Sola Sobowale, Chairman, FNSB, Asiwaju Fola Osibo,
Vice Chairman, FNSB, Mrs.FolashadeAdefisayo and Past Chairman
Executives Council, FNSB, Mrs.BiolaAgbaje during the Masked May Ball
Event in Lagos.
Lagos State Governor, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode on Monday declared that Lagos
has officially joined the League of Oil Producing States in Nigeria
following the discovery of crude oil by Tunde Folawiyo Petroleum Company
Limited in Badagry, Lagos.
