*Says it’s propaganda, *Shell shuts Alakiri flow station, *Security beef-up in Bayelsa
THE Defence Headquarters dismissed, yesterday, any suggestion of an �oil war,� the type the Movement for the Emancipation of Niger Delta (MEND) claimed to have declared on Sunday.
But as the DHQ reacted to the MEND claim, the Joint Task Force (JTF) and Shell confirmed an attack yesterday on the oil company�s flow station at Alakiri in Rivers State by militants.
MEND said it carried out the attack in which some people were feared dead.
The Director of Defence Information, Brigadier-General Mohammed Yusuf, in a statement in Abuja said the military was not at war with any Nigerian or group.
�The oil war propaganda is just a gimmick by the militants to create fear in every law-abiding citizen, both local and foreign alike, and to provoke tension in the polity.
�We are not unaware of their antics and capabilities. The joint task force in place is very capable of containing the indiscretion of the militants. So there is nothing like war.
�Whatever names they call themselves, we are citizens of the same country. The JTF is there for internal security operations to maintain law and order. The problems in the Niger Delta are being solved through dialogue.
�The Federal Government has just announced the establishment of the Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs. This is just to tell you that the government is serious in its resolve to solve the problems in the Niger Delta.
�Militant activities border on criminality and this cannot bring about peace and development in the Niger Delta. The militants must see the need to embrace peace now,� the DHQ said.
Defence sources said two soldiers were injured in last weekend�s skirmish between the militants and soldiers and that contrary to the claim by MEND, no soldier lost his life.
Troops ready to protect lives, property in Rivers
The Joint Military Task Force in Rivers State spoke of its readiness, yesterday, to protect life and property in line with the mandate given to it.
Spokesman for the Task Force, Lt. Col. Sagir Musa, said in Port Harcourt that a declaration of war by the militant Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) was mere propaganda.
�I am aware that the militants suffered heavy casualties during a clash with personnel of the Joint Task Force last Saturday at Elem Tombia in Degema Local Government area of Rivers.
�As anticipated, they launched reprisal attacks against our deployments in some areas.�
Musa said any attempted attack on military deployments was always blown out of proportion by the militants and that such talks were propaganda aimed at boosting the ego of the propagandists.
�Our personnel have successfully repelled attacks against their positions at Soku and Alakiri in Rivers where the group attacked Shell facilities.
�We did not record any death or injury as a result of the attack. We anticipated such attack and prepared for it,� he added.
On his part, Rivers State Commissioner for Information, Mr. Ogbonna Nwuke, dismissed as propaganda the threat of war by the militants. �The Federal Government in collaboration with the governments in the Niger Delta region would protect our oil fields against any attack. We are determined to make the Niger Delta region an investment hub,� he said.
Nwuke advised staff of foreign embassies in Nigeria to interact with ordinary Niger Delta people to obtain their opinions on the situation of things instead of buying the ideas of propaganda sent out by militants.
��It is not proper to listen to law breakers,�� he added.
In its reaction, Shell said a community station guard was killed, while four other persons were being treated for injuries sustained in the incident.
Another report said five persons might have lost their lives in the attack on the Alakiri flow station. Lieutenant Col Sagir Musa said militants in about 10 speed boats stormed the facility at about 12.35a.m but they met a formidable resistance from soldiers on ground
He said the exchange of fire which lasted several hours must have claimed lives on the side of the militants.
�Militants in about 10 speed boats attacked our location at Alakiri Shell flow station by 12.35 a.m. The attack lasted for over an hour. Dynamites and bombs were massively detonated by the miscreants and the attack was heroically and successfully repelled by the JTF troops on guard with heavy casualty on the bandits� side as some of them might have lost their lives in the process.
It is, however, greatly feared that the flow station might have caught fire due to crossfire during the encounter. This message is necessary to avoid and checkmate wild, misleading propaganda and misinformation by MEND and their cohorts.
No casualty on the side of security forces. The station is being closely monitored and is under control,� he said.
On their part, the militants in a statement said several soldiers were killed in the incident. It said “at 0200 hrs today (yesterday), September 15, 2008, Hurricane Barbarossa continued its destructive sweep through Rivers State of Nigeria when the eye of the storm struck a direct hit at the expansive Alakiri flow station complex operated by the Shell Petroleum Development Company. The facility was still burning when we left.
�Heavily armed fighters from the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta stormed the facility and have razed it to the ground as promised,� the MEND statement said.
Oil firms evacuate staff
The continuing clash between militants and soldiers has prompted a massive evacuation of oil workers from the region. Vanguard gathered that the fire at the Alakiri flow station had been extinguished.
Shell shuts Alakiri flow-station, gas plant
Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) yesterday shut down the Alakiri flow-station, gas plant and logistics base located south-west of Port Harcourt following the attack by militants A company spokesman who did not want his name in print said a community station guard was killed during the incident.
�SPDC is saddened by this fatality and our thoughts are with the family of the late station guard. Four other people are being treated for injuries sustained during the incident at the Shell hospital in Port Harcourt,� he said.
Security beef-up in Bayelsa
Meanwhile, security has been reinforced around oil facilities in the Bayelsa creeks as fighting rages between militants and men of the Joint Task Force in the mangrove creek of neighbouring Rivers State.
A security source who pleaded anonymity told Vanguard that military formations in the creeks of Bayelsa had been put on red alert in the wake of the clashes between men of the Joint Task Force and militants in neighbouring Rivers State.
�As you are aware, security has been reinforced around major oil facilities in the creeks and upland locations in Bayelsa due to the escalating tension in the creek of Rivers.
�Our mandate is to maintain security in the waterways and ensure safe passage for all law-abiding citizens to go about their legitimate duties by effectively policing the border area so that the fleeing militants will not infiltrate the creek of Bayelsa which is our area of operation,� the source said.