A new militant group is threatening to carry out attacks on oil companies in the Niger Delta, a news report said.
The New Delta Avengers are named in a nod to the Niger Delta Avengers who last year brought crippled the country’s oil production by fighting for a greater share of proceeds for the region.
The new group’s first statement was signed by Corporal Oleum Bellum, a Latin phrase which translates loosely as ‘oil war’, according to the Reuters report.
In their statement the group said: “By this declaration, we are resurrecting the spirit of insurgency to demand for a better deal for our people.”
“We are going to do this through bloody attacks and destruction of oil assets in the creeks and upland areas so as to disrupt and eventually cripple oil prospecting and production operations in the state.”
At the height of violence last year, militant attacks cut the country’s oil production by as much as a third.
The New Delta Avengers say their main grievance is with the governer of Delta state, Ifeanyi Okowa, who they accuse of diverting funds from programmes meant to benefit the state.
Speaking of Okowa, the group said: “Like the biblical Pharaoh, only extraordinary undertakings can soften his devilish and hardened heart towards the oil producing areas of the state.”
A spokesman for the governor denied the group’s accusation that he was showing “favouritism in the sharing of government resources.”
The group had previously warned the Delta state government that “Operation Cripple Oil and Gas Production” would begin on 30 June, unless it held talks to ensure funding reaches the region.
The security forces have said they are not sure who is behind the threats, but added that they won’t take any chances.
