The Nigerian military has vowed to respond appropriately and decisively to the resurgent Niger Delta militants who have blown up major economic facilities in the nation’s maritime areas in recent times.
The director of Defence Information, Brig-Gen. Rabe Abubakar, has described the recent attacks as unpatriotic and callous activities of the criminal gang.
Loading ...Abubakar, speaking to the press, said that the Defence Headquarters (DHQ) is aware of the increased militant activities and promised that the military response will be both holistic and professional.
He vowed that the militants will be treated as criminals and that the security forces will leave no stone unturned to apprehend the perpetrators.
He said: “This is no doubt a criminal activity and they will be treated as such at an appropriate time. The whole world is seeing the callous and unpatriotic activities of this gang. Our response will be holistic and professional, which will come at an appropriate time.
“The military and other security agencies will ensure the apprehension of these criminals and leave no stone unturned in this direction, in compliance with the directive by President Muhammadu Buhari.”
Speaking further, he urged “the community leaders, oil companies and innocent individuals to go about their legitimate endeavour as military and other security agencies have the capability to respond appropriately and guard our strategic assets and other platforms.”
Meanwhile, to check incessant attacks on the country’s oil pipeline, the Joint Military Task Force (JTF) in the Niger Delta said it had arrested 16 suspects who allegedly vandalised pipelines and engaged in illegal bunkering in Delta State.
Col. Isa Ado, spokesman of Operation Pulo Shield, the task force, made this known Fridayat a news conference at the 222 Battalion Headquarters in Ughelli.
Ado said that the suspects were nabbed in two separate operations.
According to him, in one of the operations led by Lt-Col. Mathew Oyekola, Commanding Officer, 222 Battalion, the force recovered 124 pieces of oil pipes valued at over N18 million at Otokutu village in Ughelli.
He said that the pipes, meant for a project at Aburah, were stolen from the oil fields operated by Nigerian Petroleum Development Company (NPDC), adding that four suspects, including an NPDC staff member, were arrested.
Other items recovered included a Toyota Sports Utility Van (SUV) kept at the 222 battalion headquarters.
Ado said that in the second operation “our troops from the Maritime Component, NNS DELTA, found and destroyed many illegal oil bunkering sites between April 22 and 24.
“The sites were located around Tagola community, near Egwa 1 in Warri South-West Local Government Area of Delta.
“Items recovered include six 10,000 litres capacity storage tanks, 30 drums and plastic tanks containing substances suspected to be stolen crude.
“Also, 12 suspects were arrested along SPDC-Forcados Line with two large boats carrying 39 plastic tanks filled with illegally refined diesel and 13 pumping machines.
“The items and suspects are in custody of NNS DELTA for preliminary investigations,” he said.
The spokesman reiterated that the JMF, under the command of Maj.-Gen. Alani Okunlola would continue to carry out its operations professionally as enshrined in its mandate.
He urged community leaders to discourage their youths from vandalism, “which sabotages the economy and assist the force with credible information that will lead to arrest of culprits’’.
Also, as the series of attacks continues unabated on Nigeria’s oil infrastructure, it has pushed its output of crude close to a 22-year low, putting intense pressure on the country’s finances.
Attacks late last week forced Chevron to shut its Okan offshore facility, taking out 35,000 barrels per day (bpd).
While Shell said the latest unrest had not yet impacted production at Bonga, its Forcados field is still closed and under force majeure following a February subsea pipeline attack, taking out 250,000 bpd.
The violence has depressed production to roughly 1.69 million bpd in May, the lowest since at least June 2007, when production fell to 1.68 million bpd, International Energy Agency data shows.
A small reduction from any field would quickly send output to the next low, seen in August 1994, when it hit 1.46 million bpd, according to the IEA data.
“It’s really not a good situation,” said Eugene Lindell, senior energy analyst with JBC Energy in Vienna, noting that the global excess of crude was keeping Brent prices from moving significantly higher on the back of the outages. “They have less production, and they’re getting less bang for their buck.”
The country’s 2016 budget, signed into law just last week, assumes 2.2 million bpd of oil production at $38 a barrel. In a country analysis released late last week, the U.S. Energy Information Administration noted that pipeline sabotage and oil supply disruptions had increased in 2016, putting direct pressure on the country’s finances.
“Because Nigeria heavily depends on oil revenue, its economy is noticeably affected by changes to its oil production and/or to global crude oil prices,” the report said.
President Muhammadu Buhari has said there would be a crackdown on “vandals and saboteurs” in the country’s oil-producing Delta region, analysts said the violence could scare investment away from the country.
“If it continues like this there are companies who will probably not consider Nigeria” for upstream investments, Lindell said.
