Militants Threaten Fresh Attack On Foreigners

Militants sympathetic to detained Mujahideen Asari-Dokubo on Thursday gave foreign countries up till February 12 to evacuate their nationals from the Niger Delta.

They threatened another round of violence if the warning is not heeded.

Dokubo, leader of the Niger Delta Peoples Volunteer Force (NDPVF), is being detained over treason charges.

Force Spokesman, Haz Iwendi, dismissed the threat as an empty one, even as he claims that the militants cannot disrupt oil operations.

�It is a suicidal mission for anybody or group to attack the security agencies in that area. We are not perturbed by their threats as they cannot hold the nation to ransom. Nobody or organisation can hold Nigeria to ransom�, Iwendi assured.

He advised all foreign nationals to ignore such threats and go about their normal businesses.

The ultimatum, given by the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND), comes 48 hours after it described the relocation of Dokubo to an undisclosed place as an affront on the group.

The MEND regretted succumbing to pressures from him (Dokubo) to release the foreign oil workers it kidnapped.

�In spite of the fact that our esteemed and patriotic leader persuaded us, much against our will, to release the hostages, the Nigerian state has by this act, declared war on us. Therefore, we shall act in the same manner�, the group warned.

It threatened in a statement to ground �Nigeria�s oil export by 85 per cent�, adding: �The Niger Delta child has been injured once again! We have returned to strike terror and tremour to the heart of the Nigerian petroleum industry.

�The emancipation of the Niger Delta child has been breached, the sword of men is back, this time to pass the venom of armagedon on the unrepentant political bandits of the Nigerian Abuja democracy and the multinationals.

�We shall cripple the capacity of Nigeria to export our crude by a fatal 85 per cent. We are already rigged and ready to roar! We are faceless, twice efficient, more resourceful and roundly groomed in guerrilla gambits by the gods of Izonland. We cannot be stopped till the government of this Fourth Republic follows the laid out trajectory of our demands.�

The statement was signed by Brutus Ebipade.

It warned that foreign countries �should do well to evacuate their nationals everywhere, within about or around the Niger Delta before 12th of February, because the wrath of the gods of Izonland is boiling and the blood of the oil invaders shall be made to appease the petulance of the rivers of our raging rebellion. It has begun.�

The group took a swipe at the Bayelsa State Government for �the frivolous empowerment of unscrupulous Niger Delta drunkards.

�MEND advocates optimum resource utilisation for the maximum gratification of the Niger Delta child, hence, MEND is furious over the frivolous empowerment of unscrupulous Niger Delta drunkards by the Bayelsa State Government.�

It alleged that its investigation revealed that the state government reportedly paid money to secure the release of the hostages.

�MEND intelligence reports gathered that the Government of Bayelsa, laundering her own agenda, paid over N264 million to her personnel hoodlums held by the agony to penury, posing as elders, in the name of logistics to contain MEND.�

However, the state�s Information, Culture and Tourism Commissioner, Aziboloanari Nelson, reiterated the government�s earlier position that money did not change hands in the release of the hostages.

What the government did was to �facilitate the intervention of concerned individuals�, he stressed.

�The Bayelsa State Government has made it clear that it did not give any money to release the hostages … It is ridiculous for anybody to say that we spent N264 million.�

Help keep Oyibos OnLine independent. If you value our services any contribution towards our costs will be greatly appreciated.

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.