In what appears to be a mockery of the military’s recently launched “Operation Crocodile Smile” in the Niger Delta region, militants in the region have launched their own version, tagged: “Operation Crocodile Tears.”
The militants, under the aegis of Niger Delta Greenland Justice Movement (NDGJM), also launched a massive attack on the Ogor-Oteri major delivery line of the Nigerian Petroleum Development Company (NPDC), a subsidiary of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and Shorelines Petroleum in the state.
The militants reportedly blew up the facility early on Tuesday morning.
In a statement issued by NDGJM Leader, “Gen” Aldo Agbalaja, the group claimed responsibility for the attack, saying its team launched it at about 3.00 hours.
According to Agbalaja, the attack was “executed by our Uproot Team B”, adding that “we have also launched ‘Operation Crocodile Tears’ since the military had come up with ‘Operation Crocodile Smile’”.
The group, believed to be dominated by militants of Urhobo stock, said that the issue of injustice against the people of the oil-rich region has not been addressed.
Agbalaja said: “Recent developments around our region, especially as it concerns the issue of justice and our inalienable right to protect our heritage, have proven us right all along. Now, it has become clearer who is serious about getting justice for our people and who has been using the name of the region and the destinies of all our peoples to feather their nests, raising dusts merely to harass the Nigerian state and the oil multinationals into parting with money.
“Although certain selfish machineries, merely put together to achieve pecuniary ends, have been parading in the name of the people of the Niger Delta; the Niger Delta Greenland Justice Mandate will not be derailed from its mission to getting justice for our people,” he said.
The group described meetings being held by the Federal Government and some Niger Delta leaders as being off the path to achieving peace in the region.
He said that some of the Federal Government officials involved in the task were playing to the gallery.
Agbalaja said: “The drama that trailed the visit of some Ijaw royal fathers to the Minister of State for Petroleum, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu, in Abuja recently, is the more reason why equity must be a factor in setting up a body that will dialogue on behalf of all the people of the Niger Delta.
“If such officials could not respect the royal fathers, if he is lording his will over them, what chance do other ethnic nationalities have, which do not have adequate representation?”
The militants warned that they will no longer watch the continued harassment of the people in various parts of the region by the Nigerian military.
Agbalaja said that the group had warned against the victimisation and harassment of defenceless people of the region, especially in the creeks, but instead of heeding to its admonition, the government has increased the military’s presence and made life unbearable for the people.
The militants said that they were not part of the self-appointed leaders of the region who are out to make quick money in their dealings with the Federal Government.
The group said that the leaders involved in the arrangement could only speak for the Ijaw nation and not the entire nations in the region.
Agbalaja said: “When lines are blurred, justice is most likely to be miscarried. If there shall be a negotiation, it must be seen and indeed, must be in actual sense, be representing all the individual nations of the region on equal basis.
“They are now killing our people on the basis of mere suspicion; this cannot continue. With the launch of their ‘Operation Crocodile Smile’, the Niger Delta Greenland Justice Mandate is also serving a notice on the commencement of our ‘Operation Crocodile Tears.’ It shall from now on be an eye for an eye; for every military atrocity carried out in the creeks and hinterland of the Niger Delta, the Nigerian Armed Forces will have the Niger Delta Greenland Justice Mandate to contend with”.
The militants asked oil workers at the UQCC/UPS Erhomukokwarien in Ughelli, Eriemu Pigging Manifold in Agbarha, Otorogun Gas Plant, Olomoro Flow Station, Warri Refinery, Port Harcourt Refinery, Eleme, OB-OB and Obite Gas Plants in Omoku to leave the areas in their own interest.
Meanwhile, troops of the 4 Brigade of the Nigerian Army have invaded a suspected oil bunkerer and militant camps at Afiagbene in Burutu Local Government Area of Delta State but found them deserted.
The Acting Director, Army Public Relations, Col. Sani Usman, said in a statement on Tuesday that the troops carried out the raid in collaboration with the Nigerian Navy.
Usman said it was part of the field training exercise on the Day 4 of the ongoing operation nicknamed “Operation Crocodile Smile” in the Niger Delta.
He said the troops, however, recovered two generating sets, one locally made double barrel gun, one dane gun, three live cartridges and two pumping machines.
Others, he said, were one 32 inches LG television, one Kenwood amplifier and 4 X 50 litres of liquid suspected to be crude oil at Ayakoromo junction.
Also yesterday, former Military Governor of Kaduna State, Col. Abubakar Umar (rtd), appealed to President Muhammadu Buhari not to send troops and military hardware to curb the excesses of the Niger Delta militants.
Umar argued that the planned use of force against the Niger Delta Avengers (NDA) should be shelved because the militants were ready for dialogue.
Buhari had during his recent visit to Nairobi, Kenya, threatened to handle the militants the same way he dealt with the Boko Haram insurgents if they failed to embrace dialogue.
In a statement titled: “War in the Niger Delta: A Most Dangerous Option”, which he issued in Kaduna on Tuesday, Umar said that the militants were different from Boko Haram insurgents because the former had killed over 20,000 innocent Nigerians in the North East zone.
He said: “I am really frightened by the sudden escalation of the crisis in the Niger Delta region from where there are some reports of skirmishes between our security forces and the Niger Delta militants. This is happening after the President was quoted as vowing to deal with the militants as he did to Boko Haram.
“All factors considered, the use of military force in an attempt to resolve the lingering crisis is not a good option and must therefore be discarded”.
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