Hours after the militant group, Niger Delta Avengers blew up oil pipeline belonging to the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC in Akwa Ibom State, their first strike outside Delta and Bayelsa states, the group says it would strike more for as long as the Federal Government continues to stall on meeting its demands.
The Avengers had announced it disposition to dialogue but it listed certain conditions which the government must meet before they can come to the dialogue table.
The strike in Akwa Ibom State confirmed our earlier report that villagers in Delta State reported heavy late night movement in the waterways by the Avengers days ago. The movement as it now appears was a relocation to Akwa Ibom in what intelligence sources said was a strategy to evade the military who have been combing the creeks in search of the Avengers.
After the NNPC pipeline strike the Avengers announced: “At 4:00am @NDAvengers blow up NNPC Pipeline in Oruk Anam Local Government Area in Akwa Ibom,” the Avengers announced on its Twitter handle.
“The high command of the Niger Delta Avengers (NDA) is using this medium to restate that there are no new items to put on the table for dialogue “We only want a genuine attitude and conducive atmosphere that will make us commit to any proposed dialogue and last peace talk.
“We want the federal government to commit members states of the multi-national Oil Corporations to commit independent mediators to this proposed dialogue.
“We believed that it is only such environment that will engender genuine dialogue that will be aimed at setting up a framework for achieving the short, medium and long term demands of the Niger delta to de-escalating this conflict and bring about a lasting peace,” the group had proposed in its last statement signed by its spokesperson, Brig Gen Mudock Agbinibo.
