Police fume as Avengers threaten to pull Niger Delta out of Nigeria

Police fume as Avengers threaten to pull Niger Delta out of Nigeria

Friday, August 19, 2016 9:47 am


Niger Delta militants

Niger Delta militants

 

Niger Delta Avengers (NDA) on Thursday said it will pull out the oil producing region from the Nigerian state on 1 October.

 

“The October 1st declaration of independence is still sacrosanct. If the Nigerian government fails to retrace its step by restructuring this country,” the militant group which has claimed responsibility for most of the recent successive attacks on oil installations in the oil producing Niger Delta region said in a statement.

 

October 1st is the anniversary of Nigeria’s political independence.

 

The group accused President Muhammadu Buhari  of implementing policies that are causing divisions among Nigerians.

 

“The Buhari-led government has failed Nigerians with their misdirected policies that have divided the country, as such nobody wants to be part of that failed state not even the Niger delta,” the NDA said in a statement by its spokesperson, Mudoch Agbinibo.

 

The militant group also said it prayed that oil would also be discovered in the Northern part of the country in obvious reaction to the recent directive of the President for intensification of oil prospecting in the region.

 

Avengers said discovery of oil in commercial quantity, the people of the region would also appreciate the challenges facing the people of the Niger Delta.

“Our prayer for Buhari and the Northern hypocrites (the Northern governors) is that oil should be found in commercial quantity in the North so that they can let the Niger Delta go.

 

“The October 1 declaration of independence is still sacrosanct, if the Nigerian government fails to retrace its step by restructuring this country.

 

“We want to warn the general public that those using the NDA to defraud the people, the days of reckoning are close-by.”

 

Attacks on facilities of oil majors including Shell, Exxon, Chevron, Eni and the state-run oil group NNPC by the militant group in the past few months have resulted in about 30 per cent cut in Nigeria’s output.

The oil sector accounts for 90 percent of the nation’s foreign exchange earnings and 70 percent of government revenue.

 

However, the Police have warned that the militant group will be committing treason if it goes ahead with the plan. Nigeria Force Public Relations Officer, Donald Awunah said such plan would not only be provocative, but daring of the Federal Government.

 

“I believe they (militants) know that it is a treasonable felony to declare a republic. The police and other security agencies will not allow any treasonable action to be perpetrated in any part of the country. They have been warned,” said Awunah.


Join The Conversation

What do you think?

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.