Henry Orkah, jailed leader of MEND
Few days after Buhari was declared winner of the Presidential election, beating incumbent President Goodluck Jonathan, Suspected militants on Friday blew up a major high pressure gas pipeline at Ighwrenene Community in Delta State, fuelling fears that Niger Delta militants may be back to the trenches after President Jonathan lost in the presidential election last Saturday.
One of the prominent leaders of the militants ASari-Dokubo had said two days ago that the Niger Delta militants might be heading back to the creeks, alleging a conspiracy between the North and South West to oust their so out office.
The incident allegedly occurred around 2:30 am on Friday. 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.
There were that they might restart troubles immediately after the election but Jonathan’s congratulatory message to Buhari even before the final tally of results by INEC may helped to douse tension.
However, 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 a, 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.
