Search Site: OnlineNigeria

NIGER DELTA WAR: No going back!

The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) has vowed to destroy more oil installations in the Niger Delta after Thursday's attack at the Bonga Oil Field operated by Shell.

•We'll blow up more pipelines - Militants
•MEND's threat empty, says army
•Fresh cult clash in Port Harcourt
•Ijaw gods behind us - Evah

The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) has vowed to destroy more oil installations in the Niger Delta after Thursday's attack at the Bonga Oil Field operated by Shell.

The oil field, which is the single largest offshore oil facility in the country, accounts for about one-third of the entire oil production in the country. It produces 200,000 barrels per day and 150,000 cubic metres of gas per day.

In a statement issued on Saturday and signed by Jomo Gbomo, the militant group said its aim is to bring 'Nigeria's oil export to zero" unless the government released its incarcerated leader, Henry Okah, to partake in a genuine peace process.

'The government still has time to save face by releasing Henry Okah to partake in a genuine peace process before Nigeria's oil export reaches zero.
'Yar'Adua should not be deceived by the armed forces, who are pushing him to enter into a fight for their own selfish interest as we don't see how the military can emerge victorious in guerrilla warfare and tactics," the statement read, while commending the youths who reportedly sabotaged Chevron's Abiteye-Olero crude pipeline in Delta State at the weekend.
But the Nigerian Army has described as misplaced, the confidence expressed by the militants to engage it in warfare.

Indeed, the military said the militants were no match for its highly professional force, pointing out that in an event of a full-blown war, the insurgents would lose.
Speaking with Sunday Sun, the Nigerian Army spokesman, Brigadier General Emeka Onwuamaegbu, said: The threats by the militants are empty and their confidence is misplaced. But we urge them to embrace dialogue in place of violence."
He said the attack of the militants on the military and some government facility in the Niger Delta could not be regarded as success, especially in view of the fact that a full-blown war had not been declared against the militants.

'We are responding in such a way that there will be minimal casualty. The militants should be careful not to levy war upon themselves, because we have a professional army, which can confidently contain them in the face of full-scale war.
'If we can contain the Biafran insurgence, we can contain the militants confidently. Arms struggle will not lead them to anywhere," Onwuamaegbu told Sunday Sun in a telephone interview.
Regardless, Coordinator of the Ijaw Monitoring Group, Comrade Joseph Evah, said the attack by the militants was carried out by Ijaw gods, namely Egbesu, Osuopele and Benikrukru, using MEND as foot soldiers.

'Ijaws all over the world salute the gods. It is a signal to the federal government that by declaring war on us through a fake proposed Niger Delta Summit, we can react at any time," the fiery activist said in a telephone interview, adding that the fact that the attack took place offshore showed that the Ijaw gods were in control of the sea.
He claimed that the government's plan is to use the forthcoming summit to buy time on the issue of Niger Delta development.

'After the summit between now and 2009, they plan to set up another committee to review the summit's report, which will drag on to 2010 by which time they will be preparing for another election in 2011," Evah stated.

'They think they can continue to deceive us. Let the international community know that the Ijaw can destabilise the government anytime," he said.
Constitutional lawyer, Prof. Itse Sagay, also told our reporter that the attack showed the urgency and emergency that the problem of the Niger Delta now required.
'The Federal Government should start meaningful intervention in the Niger Delta and bring about a lasting solution to the problem so that we can put it behind us and move ahead.
'How can a race that produces the substantial revenue from its oil in their land for its citizenry be cheated, marginalised and impoverished while the rest of the country enjoy and benefit from them. It is a sin against humanity," Sagay said.

The legal luminary described the Niger Delta as a time bomb that can explode and affect the whole country.
Similarly, the apex Yoruba socio-cultural group, Afenifere, said the attack simply means that Nigeria is in danger and that President Umaru Yar'Adua can no longer dither on the Niger Delta issue.
The group's National Publicity Secretary, Yinka Odumakin, in a telephone interview with Sunday Sun contended that the Niger Delta crisis is a developmental challenge and not a security concern as Yar'Adua has been approaching it.

The pan-Yoruba organisation proposed equity participation based on land ownership as a way of solving the region's crisis.
It also appealed to the militants to sheathe their swords while a solution is being worked out.
Meanwhile, one person was confirmed dead and three others wounded in a cult-related violence yesterday in Port Harcourt.

The police said both the dead and the wounded were innocent victims of the cross fire. It was gathered that the gun duel was between the Degbam cult group and a rival group in the area.
The incident that occurred in the Njemanze area of the densely populated Diobu has caused unsettling fear of possible return of cult wars in the Garden City.

When contacted, Police PRO, Mrs Rita Inoma-Abbey (DSP), confirmed that one person died while three others were wounded.
She gave the name of the dead as Friday Aniefiok, adding that the deceased and wounded were innocent persons.

Mrs Abbey told Sunday Sun that the wounded were receiving treatment in a hospital.
The Rivers State government in a move to end the reign of terror in the state set up the Justice Kayode Eso-led Truth and Reconciliation Commission.
Among those who have signified willingness to testify at the panel are known cult leaders in the state.