An Urhobo militant group, Urhobo Gbagbako, on
Friday claimed responsibility for Thursday night’s
bombing of the NPDC Oil pipelines at
Ighrenene, Afiesere and Ekiugbo communities in
Delta State.
The group, which made the claims in an email sent to
some reporters, said it is also planning to shut
down all the oil fields in Urhobo and Isoko areas.
The email signed by the group’s s spokesperson,
Priest Omodjuvwu, said the bombing of the Ekiugbo/
Ighrenene/Afiesere was to draw attention to the
neglect of ex-militants of Urhobo extraction.
It said the Urhobo had been sidelined in the pipelines
protection contracts offered to ex-militants from
other ethnic groups and they now want to show that
they too had the capacity to cause trouble if ignored.
The group said it had sent warning signals to the
NPDC and the federal government on the pipeline
surveillance contracts, which had excluded the
Urhobo. Urhobo Gbagbako however dissociated
itself from media reports about a 14-day ultimatum
given to the federal government and NPDC on the oil
pipeline surveillance contracts.
“We have now resumed attack on the NPDC pipeline
facilities on a massive scale, which scale of
bombings shall be unprecedented,” the email said.
The group said the attacks will continue until the
Urhobo got what rightly belonged to them. It
explained that Urhobo Gbagbako Group is a militia
group of all ex-militants, youths, women and elders
of Urhobo origin