Niger Delta Militants Bomb Pipeline In Sophisticated Under Water Attack
— 4th March 2016
A sophisticated attack on a sub-sea pipeline in Nigeria’s Delta might herald a return to the kind of widespread militant violence that crippled the oil industry in Africa’s top producer less than a decade ago.

Attacks on oil facilities have been on the rise in the swamps since President Muhammadu Buhari vowed to shake up a fraud-ridden amnesty program for rebels who stopped blowing up pipelines in 2009 in exchange for cash and generous contracts.

Adding a new dimension, unknown militants – probably using divers – hit a Shell underwater pipeline last month, interrupting oil flows and forcing the company to shut down its 250,000 barrel-a-day Forcados export terminal for weeks.

Nigeria-based diplomats and security experts say the attack showed a level of skill and inside intelligence rarely seen since the 2004-2009 insurgency, which at its height halved Nigeria’s oil output of around 2 millions barrels a day.

“This was an attack that required knowledge of the area and sophisticated equipment,” said a Western security source, asking not to be named. “There were underwater attacks before but none recently. The oil firms are really worried there will be more.”

Militants tend to attack small overland pipelines or flow stations sitting in hard-to-access mosquito-infested creeks.

The underwater attack has cut 15 percent of Nigerian crude output, dealing another blow to Buhari, who is already having to cope with a collapse of oil revenues due to falling prices, a Boko Haram jihadist insurgency in the north and secessionist calls in the southeast.

The strike came a month after authorities issued an arrest warrant for former militant leader Government Ekpemupolo, better known as Tompolo.

Like other ex-rebel leaders Tompolo became a millionaire through the amnesty by winning contracts to protect pipelines he used to blow up in his fight for a greater share of Nigeria’s oil wealth. Others made a fortune with massive oil theft.

Buhari has vowed to end over-priced state contracts and crude theft. But in the Delta many ex-fighters see the hunt for Tompolo as part of a campaign by mainly Muslim northerners, like the president, against the Christian south. The government denies any such motive.

The swampland’s oil provides 70 percent of state income but, like much of the rest of Nigeria, the region has never seen much development. Its roads are pot-holed and villages polluted from oil spills.

“Many angry young men still support the militants because the government is not addressing their grievances,” said Alagoa Morris, an environmental activist in the Delta. “They work for anyone who supports them.”

TROOPS

Authorities have responded by sending troops to protect oil facilities, a move residents say might fuel tensions as villagers will likely see them as invaders sent by Buhari.

“The militarization of the Delta makes it worse,” said Morris. “People see that the government is only interested in the oil production, not their grievances.”

A security official said Tompolo’s men were probably behind the sub-sea attack. Activists say it could have been the work of other ex-rebels frustrated about the region’s poverty.

Tompolo has disappeared from public view since the arrest warrant was issued, and his spokesman, Paul Bebenimibo, could not be reached for comment.

He had links to the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND), one of the most powerful militant groups, which attacked oil facilities and kidnapped expatriate workers.

A previously unknown group called the Niger Delta Avengers has claimed responsibility, warning Buhari of more trouble unless he fulfils a long list of demands such as starting development and cleaning up polluted villages.

Reuters was unable to contact the group or verify its statement. In total, ten oil and gas pipelines or other facilities have been attacked in the Delta since the start of the year, security experts say.

DELTA

Tension has been building in the Delta since Buhari defeated president Goodluck Jonathan, a Christian southerner from the region, in presidential polls a year ago.

The government has extended the amnesty but vowed to shift the focus to job training and away from cash payments, which in the past were collected by “generals” for their “boys”.

So far, the attacks have not been as severe as the previous insurgency. But diplomats worry that Delta activists are teaming up with secessionists in the southeast, where Ibgo people who proclaimed an independent state called Biafra sparked a 1967-70 civil war in which more than a million people died.

In the Avengers statement, the group demanded the release of a pro-Biafra leader jailed since October.

On Thursday, groups of former militant leaders denounced the pipeline attacks but also urged Buhari to expand the amnesty to “some of our brothers who are still in the creeks” – still a hideout for militants, pirates and kidnappers.

They also told Buhari the amnesty should be extended to 2019 to give young men time to receive job training.

The government has said it wants to set up vocational centers to train up to 10,000 people annually. But little has happened as the oil price slump has undermined spending plans.


http://www.sunnewsonline.ng/niger-delta-militants-bomb-pipeline-in-sophisticated-under-water-attack/

Oh why are these guys polluting Niger Delta region all the time?

Militant be warn. If u do anyhow u see anyhow.

God bless mr president

God bless Nigeria.

Hmmmmm

kudos guys

more explosives to una hideout

olu77:
Oh why are these guys polluting Niger Delta region all the time?

Stop pretending like you care about pollution in the Niger delta. You refuse to give them resource control that they have been asking for and went ahead to build Lagos and Abuja

Is this government a curse or blessing?

And they will come out nd say the government is not working

Taking out 15% of total crude output in a day is just a hit! Buhari should be worried...... very worried!

Has keyamo been able to confiscate and auction off tompolo properties yet?

Smh.

Same people will complain about bad economy and no power and they encourage wanton bombing of oil and gas pipelines. They should have nipped this issue in the bud a long time ago. Now the smartest way out of this should be dialogue.

PMB has the capacity to tame the bastards.

Another blow to the recent gains in electricity supply. You can't what pipes are being blown

the time is getting harder and boys are not smiling.

TKO

Obiagelli:
Another blow to the recent gains in electricity supply. You can't what pipes are being blown

Nne, You are not making sense. All acclaimed gains made so far were based only on paper. shit is about getting real.

The trouble has begun again. A country where citizens destroys its nation assests

in keneking's programmed voice ......'great'.

This indicates that this economic sabotage is not being carried out by mere militants. The Foreign oil companies themselves should be investigated.

Whilst hunting for the perpetrators, all employees of the oil companies should be questioned and all their subcontractors. and security outfits and divers should also be questioned.

jane0000:
Militant be warn. If u do anyhow u see anyhow.

God bless mr president

God bless Nigeria.

STFU.....

condralbede:
STFU.....

FU.

The Agitation is Real... Dialog is the only way out.
But our President thinks with the gun.

chubhiee:

Nne, You are not making sense. All acclaimed gains make so far were based only on paper. shit is about getting real.

I dont think so because you guys hardly wail about electricity.

kk

Obiagelli:
Another blow to the recent gains in electricity supply. You can't what pipes are being blown

You mean the statement of fact you made below when GEJ was still transforming Nigeria?

Obiagelli:
I am really delighted with the increase in power supply recently, i am interested in how we got to this level and how to sustain or improve on this success.

Sincere9gerian, how exactly did the government get Tinubu and Buhari’s boys off our gas pipelines?

OR

Can this increased supply be attributed to increased water level in our hydro dams, thanks to the rain.


Sincere9gerian, should we start celebrating or will tinubu and Buhari’s boys resume work during the dry season.

LadyExcellency:


You mean the statement of fact you made below when GEJ was still transforming Nigeria?

How does this negate my initial post?

[/quote] The underwater attack has cut 15 percent of Nigerian crude output, dealing another blow to Buhari, who is already having to cope with a collapse of oil revenues due to falling prices, a Boko Haram jihadist insurgency in the north and secessionist calls in the southeast[quote]

15% of Nigeria's oil output? seriously? This is real shit.