Nigerian militants say they have sabotaged an oil-pumping station in the restive southern Niger Delta region.
The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta said Wednesday in an e-mail that its strike on an installation run by Chevron Corp’s local subsidiary left the facility in flames. A company spokesman confirmed a fire at one of its flow stations.
Violence is rising in the chaotic and lawless southern oil region as the military intensifies operations to oust militant fighters battling for a larger share of government-controlled oil-industry revenues.
MEND Statement:
From: Jomo Gbomo
Date: Wed, Jun 10, 2009 at 12:33 AM
Subject: Hurricane Piper Alpha Devastates Chevron Oil Installations!
As forewarned, a major “Cordon and Search” operation by the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) commenced today, Tuesday, June 9, 2009 at about 2200 Hrs with devastating effects on the heavily fortified Chevron Otunana flow station in Delta state which is currently engulfed in fire after being overwhelmed by our fighters.
Code named “Hurricane Piper Alpha”, the objective is to smoke out war criminals of the Northern Nigerian armed forces who have taken refuge in oil installations and give them instant jungle justice.
These state sponsored terrorists are responsible for the killings, rapes, indiscriminate bombings and wanton destruction of property belonging to innocent civilians in impoverished oil bearing communities whose resources continues to sustain the entire Nigerian economy to their own detriment.
We have adopted the same scorched earth policy of the military which was approved by the Nigerian Presidency and endorsed by the National Assembly on any oil and gas company that allows its flow stations, rigs, pipelines or super tankers to be used as a safe haven.
MEND is declaring the JTF commander, General S. Y. Bello a wanted man. He should give himself up at our Camp 5 annex as he has a case to answer.
We want him to tell us what happened to the women, the disabled, elderly, babies and children who could not escape from his indiscriminate and cowardly aerial attacks.
Our message to fugitive Bello is “you can run , but you can’t hide”.
The obese general is advised to loose weight before reporting to Camp 5 annex since the entrance gate is quite narrow or he will find it an unpleasant experience if we have to squeeze him through it even with using crude oil as a lubricant.
As for his kindergarten spokesman Colonel Rabe Abubakar, he will be given 24 strokes of the cane on his bare buttocks according to his Sharia law for giving a false sense of security to the oil majors in spite of being forewarned.
This “Cordon and Search” operation will continue until all the missing civilians are accounted for.
Jomo Gbomo