Attack on Agip facility
MEND talks tough as explosion rocks ex-militants’ hotel
•Group: Expect major bombings
…JTF unmasks seven suspects
From FEMI FOLARANMI, Yenagoa and EMMANUEL OGOIGBE, Warri
Tuesday, February 07, 2012
Sounding tough and unrepentant, the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) yesterday served notice of bigger attacks on oil installations. MEND had last weekend blew up Agip truck line in Brass, Bayelsa State, resulting in a loss of 4,000 barrels of oil per day even as the Joint Task Force (JIF) said that it had identified seven suspects in the Agip facility attack. The JTF, in unmasking the suspects, urged them to report to it (JTF) before noon on February 12, even as explosion rocked a hotel housing ex-militants in Warri, Delta State.
Three former militants were living in the hotel. But MEND called the bluff of the Federal Government and SACOIL and threatened to carry out major attacks on oil installations. The group has responded to what it called the ignorant comments of the JTF spokesperson, Col Timothy Antigha and the government of South Africa through its Ministry of International Affairs. MEND said: “The JTF spokesperson in his little mind is failing to comprehend the gravity of the situation unfolding in the Niger Delta and attributes our attack on the Agip pipeline to instigation by imaginary persons interested in benefiting from the fraud that was the disarmament process in the Niger Delta.
“ The Nigerian government claims to have disarmed more people than exist in the Nigerian Army with only two thousand weapons to show for all their trouble. The lull in fighting by all groups in the Niger Delta is being used to acquire more sophisticated weapons to ensure that our next assault on the Nigerian oil industry expels western oil companies once and for all. There is nothing the Nigerian military can do to halt us”, MEND spokesman, Jomo Gbomo, said.
According to him, “Agip cleverly indicated that 4,000 barrels of its production is affected by our attack. The reality is that close to 200,000 bpd of Nigerian crude exports is affected by our attack as that trunk line served to transport crude oil for other oil companies as well. This translates to a daily loss of at least 20 million us dollars”.
To the South African government, MEND said, “we accept your challenge and will show you how easy it is to drive your investments out of our region. If the Nigerian government cannot protect companies like Shell and Chevron, how will they manage to protect an insignificant Sacoil? Within the next few weeks, the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta will carry out a few major attacks on oil installations to demonstrate to the world the helplessness of oil companies and the Nigerian military”.
MEND spokesman further threatened to launch further attacks on oil pipelines, adding that “there will be a brief pause as we await the time agreed upon by all groups in the delta for the resumption of hostilities in the Niger Delta.
Meanwhile, the JTF (Operation Pulo) has identified the brains behind the bombing which destroyed an Agip truck line.
The JTF said it has identified seven suspects it believed were the brains behind the attack.
The suspects are: Friday Burutu, Lord Onipa, Robinson Agagudu , Eyala Karo and Stanley Uduorie. Others are Para Ekiyes and Rasmus Omukoro.
According to Col Antigha, the suspects are advised to turn themselves in for interaction with authorities by noon on February 12.
He reiterated the earlier warnings that the suspects and their cohorts were out to swindle Niger Deltans by using the identity of the erstwhile leadership of MEND to advance selfish reasons.
Antigha advised the general public to disregard the threat issued by the group, stating that amnesty had been granted to authentic militants.
Daily Sun gathered that the explosion caused serious upheaval at the hotel, simply identified as Lawfab Hotel, near Warri Airport.
Sources said that the incident which occurred in the early hours of Monday, shattered a room where three of the ex-militants were living.
Though no life was lost, residents described the incident as first of its kind.
“We were shocked by the heavy sound and smoke which emanated from one of the hotel room where ex-militants were being accommodated” said a sympathizer, who declined to disclose his name.
But some of the ex-militants who spoke with Daily Sun, complained bitterly about the attitude of the Presidential Adviser on Niger-Delta and leader of the amnesty programme, Kingsley Kuku, who they alleged was not concerned about plight of some of the ex-militants.
It was learnt that even before the explosion, there was tension in the ex-militants camp who protested vehemently against the ill-treatment being meted to them by the handlers of amnesty programme and threatened to go back to the creeks to resume hostilities.
