Non-Ijaw militant group blow up first oil installation as threatened

The Niger Delta Greenland Justice Mandate (NDJM) claimed it made good its threat to destroy oil installations in the upland area of the region Wednesday.

That was less than 48 hours it gave the federal government to bring the non-Ijaw people of the region into the on-going dialogue the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) spearheads.

In a statement issued by its spokesperson Gen. Aldo Agbalaja, the group said it blew up the trunk line conveying crude from Isoko to the Eriemu Manifold which belongs to the NPDC and Shoreline Resources.

It added that the Central Operational Command of the group has approved the commencement of demolition and evacuation tagged ‘Operation Zero’ to correct the wrongs that have afflicted our people for years.

“We would also want to use this medium to give a very strong warning to the operatives of the asset NPDC/Shorelines not to commence repairs pending when they get signals from us, otherwise the inevitable may occur to their personnel, as we have earlier warned them to begin evacuating the uplands,” the group said.

ALSO SEE: New militant group emerges, threatens to bring NNPC, others in upland area down in 48 hrs

There was no official confirmation of the incident as of Wednesday.

The group, however, threatened further action if the non-riverine areas of the Niger Delta are not allowed to voice their grievances.

“This is just a glimpse of what is to come, there are several assets already penned down for destruction. This line of action has been made inevitable by an unjust system, which only responds to the violent to the detriment of the peaceful and law abiding.”

MEND has been coordinating a truce between the federal government and a number of militant groups, including the Reformed Niger Delta Avengers that just broke off the Niger Delta Avengers, the group that threatened to ground Nigeria’s economy.