(Reuters) – A group that claimed responsibility for a major attack on a
pipeline in Nigeria’s oil-producing Delta region said it will carry out
more strikes, just days after President Muhammadu Buhari vowed to crack
down on “vandals and saboteurs”.
The Niger Delta Avengers has said it carried out the attack on a Shell
underwater pipeline in February which interrupted oil flows and forced the
company to shut down its 250,000 barrel-a-day Forcados export terminal for
weeks.
Pipeline attacks and violence have risen in the southern swampland of
Africa’s biggest oil exporter since authorities issued an arrest warrant
in January for a former militant leader on corruption charges.
Last week Buhari, a former military ruler, said the government would crack
down on pipeline saboteurs.. And on Sunday the vice president’s office
issued a statement that said a permanent pipeline security force was being
considered.
“We are not deterred by such threats as we are highly spirited and shall
continue blowing up pipelines until the Niger Delta people are no longer
marginalized by the Nigerian actors,” said the Niger Delta Avengers in a
statement.
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.
Niger Delta Avengers, unheard of before the Forcados attack, say they want
to ensure that local people enjoy a quality of life which reflects the
region’s contribution to the national purse.
The group said in its statement: “We take no pleasure in claiming innocent
lives hence our struggle is geared toward attacking the oil installations
in our region and not the people. And we shall stop at nothing until our
goal is achieved.”
Buhari has extended a multi-million dollar amnesty signed with militants
in 2009 but upset them by ending generous pipeline protection contracts.
Vice President Yemi Osinbajo visited the damaged Forcados terminal on Friday.
Sources have said repair work on the pipeline feeding Forcados crude oil
to the export terminal is expected to take until June. But the vice
president’s statement said repair work was expected to end in May.