Militants Blow Up Pipelines at Brass and Akasa
The group, Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger-Delta (MEND) in the early hours of the 8th day of May, attacked and destroyed three major oil pipelines (two of which were within Akasa territory and the third in Brass) belonging to Italian oil giant, Nigeria Agip Oil Company (NAIC). The attack took place at the multi-billion dollar terminal and tank farm, which exports about 200,000 barrels per day (bpd) at Akasa, Bayelsa state. The group which demands local control of oil wealth in the Niger Delta threatened to blow up more pipelines between now and May 29, when the outgoing Nigerian government is due to hand over power to its successor.
In another development, the 11 expatriates abducted in Okoloma-Afam, Oyigbo Local Government area of Rivers State have been released to the State Security Service (SSS) which will hand them over to their employers.
The expatriates who were working for Daewoo, a sub-contractor to Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) on the Afam VI power station were taken hostage where a civilian and a soldier were killed while a policeman was shot on the leg. The release was confirmed by the Public Relations Officer of the Joint Task Force, Major Musa Segir. The expatriates, most of them Filipinos and Koreans were said to be in good conditions of health at time of release. They were abducted on May 3 from their location in Afam after a lot of shooting and detonation of explosives before the militants overpowered the security and carried out their mission.
These recent developments have sent global oil prices up. But will we see an even higher global oil price as MEND threatens to blow up more pipelines within the Niger-Delta? Thus cutting crude exports from Nigeria. Or will the situation be arrested before much harm is done to global oil supply?
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Comments:
Leading factors to Kidnaps / Vadals in Nigeria.
The President of The Federal Republic of Nigeria, Gen Olusegun Obasanjo is a leading factor to the vandalization of our pipelines today in Nigeria, Also the ever increasing Kidnap cases. He's major role in selling one of the major refineries to private hand shows his personal interest as on doubtable reason for corruption today in Nigeria. Days to his exit from Government, He has facilitated the exchange of several billion U.S Dollars, for the sale transaction and yet empowered multimillionaires again. This has shown a nothing but corruption at all level.
Nigeria’s output performance in refining capacity is slowed by the ever increasing corruption at the executive arm of the Government.
Best regads,
Jane Rightwood
I couldn't agrre with you any less
Do you go by the name Jane? I completely agree with you. The goings-on today witnessed in the Niger-Delta region of Nigeria is as a result of the persistent neglect on the side of the Federal Government towards the pitiable plight of the people of the region. It is indeed unfair that a region that provides the nation with such huge and immense monetary revenues will still be found wanting in areas such as human welfare and the likes. I am in no way in support of the violence unleashed by militants in the Niger-Delta. But it has to be stated clearly that the problem arises from neglect on the side of the Federal Government. We have seen a number of countries whose Federal government ensures that revenues from the nation's oil wealth is used primarily for making life better for the citizenry. An example is Venezuela. The Nigerian government must change its modus operandi and begin to see to the well-being of the people. Inspite of the tremendous achievements made in the nation's economy, more than 70% of the citizenry live in abject poverty and this makes a nonsense of the whole development recorded by the Pesident Olusegun Obasanjo-led adminstration.