Militants’ strikes again, blow up two oil installations in Delta

By Onitsha Shedrack

In a renewed attack, suspected militants in two separate attacks in the early hours of Monday, bombed oil installations belonging to an international oil exploration company, near Batan, a community in Delta State.

Though the details of the attacks were still unclear as at the time of this report, however locals said the explosions occurred at about 12.05 am on Monday.

Chairman of Batan community, Dickson Ogugu, who confirmed the attack, said: “We heard a double explosion at about 12:05am between Camp 3 and Kokologbene communities.”

A security officer attached to 3 Battalion, Effurun, near Warri, who also spoke to our correspondent, said a team of military personnel has been drafted in company of a surveillance team to ascertain the extent of damage.

The two attacks came as the Minister of Youths and Sports, Mr Solomon Dalung, claimed that he met with the Niger Delta Avengers, NDA, at Oporoza, as the group debunked the claim saying he was apparently defrauded by Niger Delta fraudsters.

The spokesman of Avengers, Brig Gen Mudoch Agbinibo, while reacting to the alleged visit of Dalung to Oporoza, yesterday, said: “The Minister of Youth and Sports, Solomon Dalung, narrated how he met some self-acclaimed Niger Delta Avengers in Oporoza, Gbaramatu kingdom. We are here to let the public know that Niger Delta fraudsters have defrauded the Minister.”

“Niger Delta Avengers cannot stoop so low to send representatives to meet a common Minister of Youths that does not know his work.

“Solomon Dalung has been defrauded and played by Niger Delta fraudsters; he did not hold any meeting with us, Niger Delta Avengers.

“Let me make it clear that any meeting with the Avengers that the international community is not part of, we will not be part of such dialogue as well,” Agbinibo added.

Meanwhile, a new militant group in the region, Niger Delta Suicides, NDS, has warned that it would devastate the economy in different forms if government refused to create a genuine platform for talks with militants.