Niger Delta Avengers
Niger Delta Avengers

Nigerian militant group, Niger Delta Avengers, appears to have broken its unannounced ceasefire which has brought calm to the country’s oil production and exportation facilities in more than two weeks.

Last night and through the early hours of this morning, it carried out major bombings on oil facilities. These attacks are bound to put an air of anxiety and insecurity back to  Nigeria’s oil industry after the two-week respite.

A few hours ago, NDA said it has carried out “five major operations”. It claimed that it blew up two major NNPC trunk lines close to Batan Flow Station in Delta State at 11:26 p.m. last night. The group also claims that it has, at 1:15 a.m. this morning blown up two major oil wells belonging to Chevron. It named the oil wells as Well 7 and Well 8, close to Abiteye Flow Station in Delta State. The fifth operation, according to the Niger Delta Avengers was at 9:15 p.m. on Friday when it blew up the crude oil trunk line which conveys crude to the Warri Refinery. The group further claims: “All five operations were carried out by Niger Delta Avengers Strike Team”

Yesterday, NDA released a statement in which it expressed disappointment over newspaper reports which alleged that two suspected militants detained by the Directorate of State Security, Christian Oluba alias Sensor and Selky Kile Torughedi were its members. NDA said the claim was laughable as the boys said to have been arrested were “sleeper agents of the DSS sent after the Niger Delta Avengers.”

The words of Niger Delta Avengers over the detainees: “The boys have the right to demand for their money from the DSS, why not pay them instead of arresting and labelling them as Niger Delta Avengers members. If DSS are denying this, let them allow the suspects to speak to the press. We (Niger Delta Avengers) don’t have any connection with these boys. We dare the DSS to allow the boys to tell the world their side of the story.

“DSS and Nigeria Army can’t win the Niger Delta war by feeding their President with false information about situation of things in the region. It’s all good because as it seems, the DSS is now having internal crisis with most of their sleeper agents and it is a sign that God is on our side.

“There are problems in the Niger Delta region such as underdevelopment, environmental degredation, lack of infrastructure and the issue of self-determination. These are areas Mr President should focus on, not arresting their allies and linking them to Niger Delta Avengers.

“This is to DSS Director Lawal Daura. This is the holy month of Ramadan and as a Muslim, you hold it to Allah and the Nigerian people to say the truth. Why not come up with the truth?

“To the Nigerian Press, there are always two sides to a story. Why not get the other side of the story by interviewing the boys? The Nigerian Army will never get us (Niger Delta Avengers), let them go and settle with their sleeper agents and stop deceiving the general public and their President.”

NDA’s claims were all contained in the statement signed by a Brig. General Mudoch Aginibo who has always claimed to be the Spokesperson of the militants.