Are the Niger Delta militants posing a threat to the incoming
administration of the former Head of State and president- elect,
Major General Muhammadu Buhari as they did to current and past
regimes?
This question has become relevant because, barely four days after
Buhari was declared winner of the Presidential election, beating
incumbent President Goodluck Jonathan, suspected militants have
blown up a major high pressure gas pipeline at Ighwrenene
Community in Delta State, warning the President-elect that he may
have his hands full in containing the economic sabotage.
The incident allegedly occurred around 2:30 am yesterday.
The economic sabotage was coming about one week after some
former leaders of the Niger Delta militants threatened to return to
the creeks and resume their war against the Nigerian state in
response to General Buhari’s election victory over Jonathan. But
Jonathan’s quick congratulatory message to Buhari even before
INEC, the electoral body, officially declared him winner doused
tension in the land and forced some of them to retract their words.
However, yesterday’s incident made the situation hazy.
Also, a group of Urhobo youths under the aegis of Urhobo Gbagbako
yesterday claimed responsibility for the March 22, bombings of the
Nigeria Petroleum Development Company, NPDC, oil pipe lines in
Ekiugbo, Ughelli Local Government Area “on a massive scale.” It said
that the aim was to give vent to their demand for pipe line
surveillance contracts.
Nigeria is almost a one- product economy with oil contributing to
about 90 percent of her wealth.
Late former President, Alhaji Musa Yar’Adua had to grant amnesty
to the Niger Delta militants who fought from the creeks to drive
home their demand for derivation and resource control in the
country.
The Federal Government also approved 13 percent derivation as well
as other programmes aimed at cushioning the effects of degradation
occasioned by oil exploration for the oil producing states.
However, as at 10am yesterday when Saturday Vanguard visited
Ighwrenene Community, an official of the NPDC accompanied by two
mobile policemen were at the scene making frantic calls on how to
extinguish the inferno which was ravaging the area.
Another official attached to the Pipeline Surveillance Unit, PSU, in
the area who spoke on the condition of anonymity said that the
affected pipeline was a trunk line which convey the product from
Eriemu, Kokori, Afiesere, Uzere, West-End at Kwale, Ogini,
Olomoro and Owhe to the Ughelli Quality Control Center, UQCC.
Attempts by fire fighters from the NPDC, SPDC and the Delta State
Fire Service departments to extinguish the fire had not been
successful even as one of their trucks got stuck along the road to
the scene of the explosion making access to the spot almost
impossible.
Meanwhile, the Commanding Officer of the 222 Battalion, Agbarha-
Otor, Lt. Col Mathew Oyekola told Saturday Vanguard that 15
suspects have so far been arrested in connection with the incident.
Pipeline surveillance contracts: Urhobo youths commence bombings of
oil installations
In a statement yesterday, leader of Urhobo Gbagbako, Priest
Omodjuvwu, said the group carried out the latest round of bombing
along the Afiesere and Ekiugbo axis of the council area, during which
it shut down all the oil fields in Urhobo and Isoko nations.
Omodjuvwu said, “We have earlier warned NPDC and the Federal
Government on the pipeline surveillance contract to no avail.
‘’The contract is going on without the inclusion of the Urhobo, and
that is injustice being meted to the Urhobo, which we will resist to
the end. We need the pipe line surveillance contract now or the
bombings will continue.
“We have now commenced bombings of oil and gas installations in
Ekiugbo/Ighrenene/Afiesere areas and we will continue in an
unprecedented scale, until we get the pipe line surveillance contracts
in our area.”
He also, added that the group’s quest for oil contracts was
immediate, in the absence of which the youths would continue the
assault on oil facilities in their domain, without waiting for the
expiration of the 14 days ultimatum earlier credited to it.
The Federal Government was said to have on March 16, reviewed its
new plan to safeguard the waterways and oil pipelines by allegedly
directing the Police and the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence
Corps, NSCDC, to quit the job for some companies, which had been
signed on by the government.
The companies were reportedly owned by some former Niger Delta
militants and prominent citizens including Government Tompolo;
Mujaheedin Asari-Dokubo, Chief Bipobiri Ajube (aka Gen. Shoot-At-
Sight) as well as the Oodua Peoples Congress, OPC, led by Dr.
Frederick Fasehun and Gani Adams.
About seven companies were said to have been allocated “regions” or
operational areas as follows: Egbe Security River One (Bayelsa);
Gallery Security (Mosinmi -Ore); Close Body Protection (Edo State);
Adex Energy Security(Rivers) ; Donyx Global Concept(Lagos and
Ogun); Oil Facilities Surveillance-(Delta) and New Age Global Security
(Mosinmi-Ibadan).
The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), it was said,
would coordinate the jobs.
Nigeria has been battling with huge revenue loss due to vandalism of
oil and gas pipelines.
Dokubo threatens to resume militancy in response to Buhari’s
election victory
NIGER Delta militant leader Asari Dokubo had threatened to return
to the creeks and resume his war against the Nigerian state in
response to General Muhammadu Buhari’s election victory over
President Goodluck Jonathan.
On Saturday, Nigerians went to the polls to elect a new president
and Buhari of the All Progressives Congress, APC, beat incumbent
President Jonathan of the People’s Democratic Party, PDP. This was
even as the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta,
MEND, sent Buhari a congratulatory message, saying that Nigerians
made the right choice.
However, Mr Dokubo, who earlier promised to unleash violence on the
country if President Jonathan was not re-elected, promised to
return to the creeks, blaming the Yoruba and Hausa for working
against Ndigbo and Niger Deltans.

www.vanguardngr.com/2015/04/buhari-suspected-militants-fire-first-warning-blow-up-main-gas-pipeline-in-delta/

Madnex is wen u bomb and GMB still completes his 4yrs why ur crops and atmosphere perish

Small fries

A valid reason for the cancellation of all pipeline protection contract awarded to militants

Nigeria security will now wake up to it original duties even if it means applying maximum force to flush them out.

Change is on the way

kelvinchristus:
Madnex is wen u bomb and GMB still completes his 4yrs why ur crops and atmosphere perish

Stupidity is not seeing the difference between boko haram bombing themselves, thier kinsmen, their region and militant blowing pipelines, making the creek unsafe for oil exploration, starving the administration of needed fund.
Economic sabotage is different from insurgency, human casualty may be low, the devastating result can not be understated.

Obasanjo just came to my mind with the odi experience