FROM CHRIS ANUCHA

The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND), has said that it was responsible for the damage of Shell facilities, which   caused  further pollution of the environment in Ogoniland and other communities in the Niger Delta region. The pollution  was  said  to have been due to   crude oil spills and gas leakages, which MEND claimed,  was    caused  by  its   attack codenamed, ‘Hurricane Exodus.’
A statement issued yesterday and signed  by   MEND’s  spokesman, Jomo Gbomo read in part : “This first plague of blood is a sacrifice for freedom we will all have to endure.
“Since our last update, ‘Hurricane Exodus’ continues to gather strength as it sweeps through the swamps and creeks in the Niger Delta, leaving seriously damaged Trans Niger and Feeder pipelines, harassed security operatives and scurrying oil workers in its wake.”
The  group  said its efforts at sabotaging the oil sector  was  being complemented   by what it called,  industrialised oil theft,  allegedly aided and abetted by the security forces in the region.
It gave names  of the   agencies  as, the Joint Task Force (JTF), Eastern Naval Command, the Marine Police, the State Security Services (SSS) and the Nigerian Maritime and Safety Administration Agency (NIMASA).
It also alleged that, “Politicians at the highest level of government and some unscrupulous staff of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) are also involved in the racket.” It continued: “Oil majors are being chased away, abandoning their on-shore assets or selling them off. This is our honest advice to unsuspecting buyers in a Niger Delta, where the government of Goodluck Jonathan has refused to dialogue on the root issues, opting instead to delude itself, bribe a few miscreants and deceive the world that all is well, because of misleading assurances and bad advice from a few selfish, greedy and myopic individuals.
Off-shore operations are not a safe haven. MEND has visited Bonga before and we will do it again when the time is right.”

Posted by admin on Oct 21 2013. Filed under General Politics, Headlines, Niger Delta, Oil Politics, Rivers, State News, Top Stories. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry