Roundup: Militancy reemergence threatens Nigeria's oil-rich region

Militancy activities are gradually returning to the oil-rich Niger Delta region of Nigeria following recent attacks by an emergent shadowy group that calls itself Niger Delta Avengers (NDA).

The new militant group has launched a violent campaign of vandalizing pipelines and blowing up critical oil facilities in parts of the oil-rich region.

It has claimed responsibility for the destruction of oil facilities in Warri, Delta State. These include a Royal Dutch Shell production facility, a Chevron Valve Platform in Abiteye, and the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) crude and gas lines in the state.

These attacks have had a debilitating impact on the country's petroleum industry at a time of grim economic hardship, arising from the sharp fall in international crude oil prices and a marked decline in petroleum revenues.

Production has been halted in the affected facilities, reducing the country's daily export capacity while nervous oil firms are evacuating their staff for fear of future attacks.

A spokesman of the NDA has reportedly said they shall continue blowing up pipelines until the Niger Delta people are no longer marginalized by the Nigerian actors.

Italian energy company Eni on Wednesday confirmed that one of its Nigerian pipelines in the region was the target of the militant attack, and equity production curtailed as a result.

In reaction to the latest militancy activities, the Special Adviser to President Muhammadu Buhari on Niger Delta, Paul Boroh, has said the government is open to discussions with Niger Delta militants over their grievances.

Boroh, who is also the Coordinator of the Presidential Amnesty Program, said the act of vandalizing pipelines is counter-productive apart from it being a crime against the state.

"Those involved in this nefarious activity are economic and environmental saboteurs. It will do well for them to refrain from it, as my office is always open to dialogue regardless of their grievances," he said.

According to him, the federal government already has in place a well-structured reintegration program for youths of the region, which has helped in maintaining the peace and stabilizing security of the region.

Meanwhile, the Nigerian Defense Headquarters has declared war against the new militant groups in the Niger Delta region.

The military high command, in a statement through a spokesperson, Brig-Gen. Rabe Abubakar, declared the militants as terrorists, vowing to deploy its entire arsenal to crush them.

The spokesperson said it was not unaware of the existence of the new militant groups, adding that they were committing economic terrorism against the Nigerian state.

According to him, the military will employ all available means and measures within its Rule of Engagement to crush any individual or group that engages in the destruction of strategic assets and facilities of the government in the Niger Delta or any other location, and they will stand to regret the consequences of their actions. Endit