Suspected militants have attacked a crude oil pipeline in Nigeria’s southern state of Bayelsa, the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) said.
The pipeline operated by the local subsidiary of Italy’s Eni was attacked on Sunday.
Desmond Agu, a spokesman for the NSDC, a government agency, said the Agip pipeline was attacked in the early hours of Sunday, around 12:30 a.m.
“A gang of armed youths … vandalised pipeline along Azuzuama axis of the Tebidaba-Brass pipeline with dynamite and ignited fire on the line,” he said, adding that one of the suspected attackers had been arrested.
The attack comes just days after President Muhammadu Buhari said he had heightened the military presence in the oil-rich Niger Delta region, where attacks in the last few weeks have driven the country’s oil output to a more than 20-year low.
Eni, operates in Nigeria through its subsidiary Nigerian Agip Oil Company.
The Nigerian army last week arrested members of the Niger Delta Avengers, a militant group, which has claimed responsibility for a wave of attacks on pipelines in the restive Delta region.
The Niger Delta Avengers says it wants a greater share of oil profits and independence for the swampy region has claimed several attacks.
Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari has extended a multi-million dollar amnesty signed with militants in 2009 but upset them by ending generous pipeline protection contracts.
He also cut the amnesty budget by around 70 percent, which partly funds training for unemployed people.
Former militants have called for a halt to a resurgence of attacks in the Niger Delta, saying it is an unnecessary distraction for Buhari’s administration.
The Niger Delta group has vowed to cripple economic activities through pipeline vandalism, oil theft and kidnap of expatriate workers in that region.
They say they want to ensure that local people enjoy a quality of life, which reflects the region’s contribution to the national purse.
Pipeline attacks and violence have risen in Nigeria’s oil rich region since authorities issued an arrest warrant in January for Government Ekpemupolo also known as Tompolo, a former militant leader on corruption charges.
The Delta’s oil provides 70 percent of state income in Africa’s biggest economy but, like much of Nigeria, the region has seen little development which has prompted militants to demand a greater share of crude revenues.
Buhari has extended a multi-million dollar amnesty signed with militants in 2009 but upset them by ending generous pipeline protection contracts.