Claims, Counter Claims Trail Alleged Bombing of NPDC Pipeline in Delta

Sylvester Idowu in Warri

The military and militants friday made claims and counter claims on alleged attack on product pipeline with the Joint Task Force insisting that the militants who wanted to bomb a facility took to their heels on sighting their men. The militants said they bombed the pipeline.

Urhobo/Isoko militant group, Niger Delta Greenland Justice Mandate (NDGJM) friday claimed it breached Iwhremaro trunk line in Ughelli South Local Government area of Delta State.

However, THISDAY checks revealed that there was no such attack on any oil facility in and around Ughelli North and South Local government areas of the state. Security sources disclosed that the militant group was playing on the intelligence of the media so it could be reported as “still biting when there is nothing to blast again upland”.

The group claimed its Akuma Strike team brought down the facility at about 9 pm on Thursday. The delivery line leads to the Quality Control Centre (QCC) of a yet to be identified oil company.

The group, in a statement signed by its Spokesman, Aldo Agbalaja, said

“At about 2100hour of Thursday October 13, 2016, the AKUMA STRIKE TEAM of the Niger Delta Greenland Justice Mandate brought down the IWHREMARO to the QUALITY CONTROL CENTRE (QCC) DELIVERY LINE to signal the commencement of the OPERATION HAMMURABI CODE”.

It assured that more of such attack would come in days noting that it had been patient and reasonable all along hence its choice to restrict the group’s activities to mild operations that were not aimed at causing critical damages.

Acting Spokesman of Joint Task Force (JTF) code-named Operation Delta Safe, Lieutenant Commander Thomas Otuji said there was no bombing of any NPDC Facility.

“It was not bombed as claimed, rather vandals were trying to sabotage the pipeline. They fled on sighting troops on patrols. The criminals are being trailed for apprehension”, he told THISDAY.

NDGJM maintained “But it has now become crystal clear that we are dealing with devious and incorrigible people. Therefore, we serve this as a notice to the Nigerian government and its conniving multinationals that the Operation Hammurabi Code has been initiated, henceforth, it shall be an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.

“Now you shall know what uprooting of your cherished assets means. It starts from now on, there is no longer going to be warnings or special consideration for anybody.

“We have observed that the leopard of the oil company is incapable of changing its skin; ever deceiving, ever conniving. Your ‘divide-and-rule’ gimmick will fail here as we will not stay idle in the face of your lies. For every lie you introduce, you will lose a major asset and if need be, you will lose personnel.

“We have said it once and we shall repeat it here now; the Niger Delta Greenland Justice Mandate will not call this campaign off in secret, when we see reason to do so and we decide to do so, we shall reach the world publicly through this same channel, from where we took off”, it added.