Avengers suspend ceasefire, vow to destroy oil installations in Niger Delta

The gradual oil boom the Nigerian government is currently enjoying may soon be over as dreaded militant group, the Niger Delta Avengers (NDA) has announced the resumption of hostilities against oil and gas facilities any moment from now.

This is coming in the wake of the current about 2.2mbpd rise in crude oil export the country is enjoying, a situation that has upped the country’s oil income in recent time particularly owing to the relative peace being enjoyed in the oil-rich Niger Delta region after the intervention of the Pan Niger Delta Forum (PANDEF) led by Chief Edwin Clark.

Spokesman of the group, self-styled Maj. Gen Murdoch Agbinibo, made the threats in a statement posted in the website of the lethal group, on Friday.

He expressed the anger of the group over the disgrace meted out on members of the Pan Niger Delta Forum (PANDEF) during its 4th General Assembly held in Port Harcourt recently, saying the ignominious treatment had justified its earlier warning against dining with the Buhari-led Federal Government in a bid to dialogue.

“We want to make it known to the PANDEF and the Nigeria government that our call for halt on “Operation Red Economy” is
officially over.

“We have just concluded head count of our operatives across the country; we are pleased to announce that all our operatives are intact and focused; ready to implement instructions from the High Command of the NDA in the going few days,” NDA alerted.

Agbinibo further disclosed in the statement that the current lethargic and deceptive attitude of the Federal Government towards the Niger Delta region was responsible for the decision to resume onslaught.

He added that if former militant, Chief Government Ekpemupolo alias Tompolo and PANDEF had listened to the group’s warnings, the situation would have been different by now, noting that PANDEF’s intervention to mediate had yielded no result.

“To the elders of the Niger Delta, PANDEF, we warned you against the antics of the Nigerian Government yet you requested a chance to broker a new vision for our people.

“We told you and the rest of the world that the Nigerian Government is only interested in our oil wells and not our well being yet you told us the signs are different this time around.

“Instead of allowing us to continue our quest to bring the Nigerian economy to our targeted zero daily production, which recorded huge success; you threatened us with Tompolo to stop the struggle; out of respect for elders and not to the threat of Tompolo we adhered the call and halted our strike actions hoping you (PANDEF) would keep your own side of the bargain.

“The question to Tompolo and the PANDEF is to tell us what progress they achieved since we heeded your retrogressive call,  to whose benefit is the move by Tompolo and the Niger Delta elders to impede a mission sanctioned by our ancestors and the Almighty?

“We have since lost faith in you (Tompolo) and PANDEF and have vowed never to heed any such retrogressive call or advise from you in the future.

“The recent disruption of the PANDEF 4th National Assembly by the Nigerian government is the final evidence we needed to conclude that the Federal Government of Nigeria deserves not even a iota of respect for you (Tompolo) and the Niger Delta Elders as the position of the Nigerian government is made emphatically known to the Niger Delta People that it’s ONLY interest remains the flow of oil from our region to the Central Bank of Nigeria,” it alleged.

Meanwhile, NDA has threatened to level any obstacle on its way as it resumes hostilities against oil multinationals soonest.

“Message to the Oil Companies; Our next line of operation will not be like the 2016 campaign which we operated successfully without any casualties; this outing will be brutish, brutal and bloody, as we shall crush everything we meet on our path to completely put out the fires that burn to flair gas in our communities and cut every pipe that moves crude away from our region.

“We can assure you that every oil installation in our region will feel warmth of the wrath of the Niger Delta Avengers.

“To the Nigerian Government, we are aware of Egina FPSO built in South Korea by Samsung to be operated by Total Nigeria is one of the biggest FPSO built in South Korea has started it’s voyage to the oil fields of the Niger Delta to further exploit us while our concerns are left unattended.

“We are presently tracking and monitoring it’s movement; and God willing it shall not operate successfully in amidst the return of the fury of the Niger Delta Avengers,” it warned.

The group warned the public to be wary of one ‘Reformed Niger Delta Avengers’, which described as “a money-making tool in the hands of certain disgruntled Niger Deltan political jobbers in connivance with top government functionaries of the Buhari led Nigerian Government.”

It vowed “not to spare anything or anyone on our path to actualize a united and free Niger Delta.”

New spokesman of Operation Delta Safe (OPDS), an arm of the military Joint Task Force (JTF), Major Abdulahi Abubakar, said he was unaware of the new threats as of the time he was contacted on Friday.

However, reacting to the threats, Commander, Nigerian Navy Ship (NNS DELTA), Warri Naval Base, Commodore Ibrahim Dewu, while on phone with Saturday Tribune in Warri on Friday, said his command was not taking the threats lightly.

He said patrol of the base’s area of responsibility has commenced in earnest, with naval personnel on gunboats in action.

“We’re not taking it lightly. We’re also preparing to respond as we’re on red alert everywhere.

We’ve also gotten the information. What we do is when we get information like this our men will be on red alert and we’ll patrol all the waterways and places.

You know they’re threatening to start attacking oil and gas facilities and everything. We’ll carry out extensive patrol,” Dewu vowed.

When asked the strength of the hardware and personnel that’ll be deployed to the waterways, the naval boss said “no, no, no, no. I wouldn’t disclose the number of men of gunboats.”

It will be recalled that the militant group, through its ceaseless attacks on oil and gas facilities in the region, brought down crude oil export to as low, as 1.523 million barrels per day in June 2016 while the country grappled with economic recession.