There is a case of disunity within the ranks of the multiple Niger Delta militant groups who have consented to a negotiation with the Federal Government in the face of an adamant stand by the Niger Delta Avengers.
Militants in the Niger Delta are falling apart over negotiations with the Federal Government, which bowed to stakeholders’ demand for dialogue and announced a two-week ceasefire to create a window for engagement, on Monday.
The militants were at loggerheads also over the former ‘General Officer Commanding’, GOC, of the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger-Delta, MEND, Government Ekpemupolo, alias Tompolo, who had denied involvement in the bombings in the oil-rich region, but his name keeps springing up, Vanguard reports.
This happened on a day Tompolo appealed to the Niger Delta Avengers (NDA), which has claimed responsibility for the bombings, to put a halt to its activities, saying, “You have not only succeeded in militarizing the Niger Delta region now, but you have also succeeded in giving birth to so many negotiators and political jobbers within the government circle, who are very serious rumour peddlers in the country now.”
Meanwhile, the Commandant General of the Riverine Security (Coast Guard of the Federation), Commander Bibi Oduku, whose organization is collaborating with security agencies to track down criminals on the waterways, on Saturday, said: “We received information that NDA’s next targets are Choba Bridge, Rivers State, Kaiama Bridge, Patani, Imo River Bridge between Rivers and Abia; and the bridge linking Rivers and Akwa-Ibom in Ogoni axis.
“The militant group also plans to bomb the Nigeria Port Authority, NPA, Warri; NPA, Port Harcourt; NPA Onne; NPA Calabar; MTN; Airtel; Glo and Etisalat facilities in the Niger Delta region with other major oil and gas facilities. Security agencies must take fast action to forestall the attacks.”