The group said its Elite Strike Team 03 struck Nembe 1, 2 and 3 truck lines, being operated by Agip, Oando and Shell respectively at about11.45p.m.
The trunk lines have the capacity to supply 300,000 barrels of crude per day to Bonny export terminal. The spokesperson of the Avengers, Brig. Mudoch Agbinibo, who explained why they broke the ceasefire truce and claimed responsibility for the bombing, said it was to prove the Nigerian Navy’s “Operations Sharkbite” wrong.
“This is in response to the so-called “Operations Sharkbite,” an act of terrorism commissioned by the tyranny of the Nigerian Navy establishment and orchestrated by some elements of the ruling political class to continuously undermine any effort by the Nigerian state to address the legitimate demands of the people of the Niger Delta as well as a conspiracy to bloat the accounts of some security contractors and conflict merchants within the party structure of the APC.
“We are only reiterating our strong resolve that time is running against the Nigerian government, that there is doom ahead.
The Nigerian government needs our cooperation more than we need the government as it concerns the extraction of crude oil and hydrocarbon resources in our God-given land,” the group said.
The militia group maintained that bombing of oil installations would continue until the Federal Government engaged them in a sincere negotiation, stressing that until the burning issues of resources control, fiscal federalism and inclusive development are addressed, “no force will stop this struggle even with bare hands.
“We are determined to continue this war by all means necessary, until that environment prevails for a genuine dialogue and negotiations within the framework of the 16-point key demands presented to President Muhammadu Buhari by PANDEF on the 1st of November 2016. “We want the peace with honour, we don’t want the peace of our time.
Since that moment military was drafted into the Niger Delta as an instrument of suppression to our fatherland against all peaceful protest and legitimate demands, the fear had gone.
The message is getting stronger with more messengers.” The group said since the high hope of expectation that the PANDEF’s meeting with the president would work, the Federal Government would have withdrawn security operatives from the region, but reverse was the case till now.
It noted: “The high command of the NDA is only reacting to government’s deliberate attempts to undermine the process to dialogue and negotiations. It will make a lot of sense on the part of the government of President Muhammadu Buhari to restrain the security agents/agencies from engaging in activities that are inimical to the process and the people and commu nities of the Niger Delta.
“The government has been relentlessly carrying out military build ups to continuously harass communities and indigenes of the Niger Delta after the November 1 meeting of the PANDEF and President Buhari.
“We see this as a deliberate move by the military establishment to undermine any effort of dialogue and negotiations with the people of the Niger Delta.” In anothers development, President Muhammadu Buhari has received fresh demands that must be met if the country is to achieve relative peace in the Niger Delta.
Vice President Yemi Osinbajo yesterday met with another group from the region barely a fortnight ago when the President himself received a 16-point demand from Niger Delta stakeholders, under the aegis of Pan Niger Delta Forum.
The group, which had presented a 16-point earlier, was led by Amanyanabo of Twon Brass, Bayelsa State, King Alfred Diete Spiff and elder statesman, Chief Edwin Clark.
At the meeting presided over by Osinbajo yesterday, fresh demands were submitted by the Niger Delta Peoples Congress (NDPC).
The group was led by King Diete Spiff. The demands, contained in a document signed by Congress Secretary, Professor Benjamin Okaba, indicated that the group was in the presidential villa to re-affirm the submissions made earlier and to prioritise the concerns and place them in clearer perspectives.
The document noted that: “This is premised on our objective assessment of the anxieties, sentiments and myriads of reactions from the key drivers and players in the crises across and outside the region that immediately trailed the meetings. “We are very confident that our modest contributions as articulated below would constitute the panacea to the age long crises in the Niger Delta.”
They said, “the fundamental concern is political reconstruction and fiscal federalism.” “We are persuaded to uphold that the nation practices true federalism with legitimate and ac-ceptable division of power among the constituents (the centre and regions) and the principle and practice of ownership and management of resources by the constituents,” the document noted According to the group, the derivation principle should allow the different unit annex and control its resources and pay appropriate and agreed tax to the centre.
On demilitarization and peace/confidence building, the group states: “We are persuaded to request the federal government to stop further invasion of the region under any guise; release unconditionally all freedom fighters from detention and deploy political solution to the issues surrounding the leadership of the agitators/freedom fighters; cause multinational co-operations not only to relocate their operational bases to the region, but more significantly, create a minimum of 6,000 jobs for the teeming population of unemployed and restive youths of the region; cause the resumption of academic activities at the Nigerian Maritime University, Okerenkoko, Delta State and establish similar institutions in other parts of the region.”
On funding interventionist agencies, they asked for the release of over N800 billion outstanding allocations yet to be paid to the NDDC; building of more refineries (modular type), petrochemicals and other petroleum related industries to add value to the crude oil and gas produced from the region. Other issues raised include environmental and human rights protection.
“To drastically reduce the current state of environmental degradation and threat to life occasioned by the activities of the multinational corporation in the region, we recommend that the federal government should urgently cause the appropriate agencies and co-operations to begin the comprehensive remediation (clean up etc.) of the Niger Delta environment affected by oil spill,” the group demanded.
Speaking with State House correspondents at the end of the meeting, two members of the delegation, Mike Oloyebo and Hendricks Okpokeme said their mission is towards finding lasting peace in the region.
On the response of the Presidency to the presentation, he said: “It was very positive. We have a president that is very honest with governance and the issues that affect Nigerians and I am very sure that what he told us that the issues are very legitimate and we should go back and try to get a roadmap for permanent peace and that is what we are doing.”
Our correspondent gathered that the Vice President, during the meeting, told the delegation that they should first address the issue of continued vandalism in the region, which, he said, is the most important thing.
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