| Suspected militants on Sunday attacked the Nigeria Agip Oil Company flow station in Ogboinbiri, Southern Ijaw Local Government Area of Bayelsa State, in what was described as reprisal attacks.
They also held 12 workers of the company hostage. The attacks came barely four days after the killing of nine militants by the men of the Joint Military Task Force (JTF) in the same area soldiers were said to have exchanged fire with the militants. The militants were said to have mobilised themselves to avenge the death of their colleagues who were said to have been killed by the soldiers. The youth arrived on the platform early in the morning and allegedly forced the soldiers to beat retreat. The militants succeeded in blowing up the flow station and taking over the entire platform. The soldiers, according to a security source, seemed to have asked for reinforcements to curtail the activities of the rampaging youth as a gunboat was said to have been moved towards the area from Yenagoa. Also, some of the vehicles of the JTF were seen moving towards the Yenagoa waterside. Confirming the incident, the spokesperson for JTF, Major Omale Ochagwuba, said, �yes they attacked. Details are still sketchy.� In his own comment, the coordinator of the state security outfit, Bayelsa Volunteers, Joshua Benamaisia, said, �The boys have taken over the flow station this morning, but no casualty has been recorded.� The attacks came barely 48 hours after the leader of the Niger Delta Peoples Volunteer Force, Alhaji Mujadid Dokubo-Asari, who was recently released on bail by the Abuja high court, promised to find a lasting solution to militant activities in the region. The state police command could not confirm the shootout, as its Public Relations Officer, DSP Iniobong Ibokette, said he was yet to receive information from the area with regard to the attacks. Reacting, the Movement for the Emancipation of Niger Delta (MEND) denied involvement in the shootout. |
Jun182007