Recalcitrant militia group, the Niger Delta Avengers, has again attacked a gas and crude pipeline belonging to the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation.
The attack was carried out the same day its blew up a Well D25 pipeline belonging to Chevron in Abiteye, Warri South-West Local Government Area of Delta State.
Industry sources said with the development, Chevron may shut in its operations in Abiteye, Alero, Dibi, Otunana and Makaraba flow stations as the gas pipeline attacked by the militant group feeds a major tank farm of the company in the state.
The source also said with the attack, the crude line feeding the Warri and Kaduna refineries may be shut in while the gas line which feeds the Lagos and Abuja electricity power supply, also badly affected, may be shut down.
The militant group said on its website that the attack was in reaction to the elapsed three days ultimatum given to ex-Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta warlord, Chief Government Ekpemupolo, aka Tompolo, who they allegedly accused of interference.
It could be recalled that the militant group had in an earlier statement threatened to take their operations to the backyard of Tompolo if he continued to counter their directives.
They alleged that Tompolo had given his nod to NNPC and its contractors to commence repair works on the 48-inch pipeline at Forcados, which it blew up sometime ago despite a stern warning that no one should go near the blast site until its demands were met.
The spokesman of the group, ‘Colonel’ Mudoch Agbinibo, in a statement on Saturday said the attack was in keeping with the promise they earlier gave about taking the “war” to the doorsteps of Tompolo.
“To keep to our promise, the three (3) days ultimatum given to Chief Government Ekpemupolo has elapsed and he fail to apologize to the Niger Delta Avengers, at 2200hours Thursday, May 5, 2016, our strike team 4 hit the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) crude and gas lines,” the statement said.
The group said the attack, which took place simultaneously around 10pm on Thursday, same day Chevron Well D25 Flow station was blown up in Abiteye, occurred about 100m away from a military houseboat, which was stationed to protect the oil pipelines in the Niger Delta.
The militants threatened that if the Federal Government and International Oil Companies fail to meet their demands, they will activate its elite unit, THE NIGER DELTA AIR FORCE, codename Strike Team 1, and launch further attack on all oil facilities, including offshore platforms like Bonga Fpso, EA field, tank farms such as Bonny tank farm, Escravos tank farm and Forcados tank farm in the delta.
The group said: “This is a clear warning to the all Niger Delta politicians, traditional rulers, community leaders, and the likes of Tompolo to mind their business and leave the liberation of the Niger Delta people to the Avengers. Those who believe taking sides with federal government to fight Niger Deltans is the best option.
“Avengers are here on ground, neither you nor the federal government can stop us. If you don’t stay clear and let us to carry out our activities we will bring the fight to your individual doorsteps. Our major goal is to cripple the Nigeria economy.”
Meanwhile, the Coalition of Ijaw Communities in Gbaramatu Kingdom, Warri South West Local Government Area of Delta State has appealed to the perpetrators of the twin pipeline attacks to desist from act, which they said is inimical and counterproductive to the socio-economic development of the area.
The Chairman of Inikorogha community in Warri South West Local Government Area, Comrade Christopher Ejoh, in a statement jointly signed by Chief Isaiah Ukulor and Chief Felix Ejoh, and made available to newsmen on Saturday, vehemently condemned the attacks, which they said was giving the entire Gbaramatu Kingdom a bad name.
They expressed concern that some pipelines that have been commissioned earlier after their repairs by Ocean Marine Solution, an oil servicing firm handling pipeline repair jobs for the Nigerian Gas Company in the area, were among the lines attacked in Inikorogha and Bafan communities.
The statement said: “We are seriously pained by what is going on around Gbaramatu Kingdom and it environs. We condemned in its entirety these attacks and want to appeal to the perpetrators to stay away from our communities.
“Our communities should not be a theatre of their war, because we are at peace with NGC and other multinationals around us. NGC in particularly have been of great help to us, the electricity we are enjoying today was provided by them and we have no course to be in any disagreement with them.”
The communities leaders expressed concern that the perpetrators are by the attack trying to make innocent communities culprits in their onslaught but however urged the military not to cause further apprehension and fear in the communities in the name of looking for the perpetrators.
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