Bayelsa: Militants blow up pipeline as community youths arrest 3 vandals-by Femi Folaranmi, Yenagoa

• MEND blasts NDA, demands release of Okah’s brothers

SUSPECTED militants, yes­terday, blew up an oil pipe­line belonging to Nigeria Agip Oil Company (NAOC) at Ogboinbiri-Teibidaba trunk crude oil pipeline.
The incident has already caused panic as residents of the area fled the commu­nity over fears of military crackdown.
A source in Ikienghenbiri community said the explo­sion was caused by rivalry between two suspected militant groups in the area.
“The armed men van­dalised the pipeline along Azuzuama-Ikienghenbiri axis of the Tebidaba-Brass pipeline with dynamites and also, set fire on the line. The vandalised point is still on fire,” the source added.
Bayelsa State Govern­ment, which confirmed the incident, said youths of the area have arrested three suspected militants in con­nection with the explosion.
A statement signed by Commissioner for Infor­mation and Orientation, Mr, Jonathan Robinson Obuebite alleged that the group, which was led by Suoyou, Iyelawei and Fy­neboy vandalised the pipe­line along the Azuzuama- Ikienghenbiri axis of the trunk line conveying crude oil from NAOC flow station at Tebidaba to Brass.
According to Obuebite, the pipeline vandals were apprehended by youths of Azuzuama community, who got wind of the action.
He said the suspects were arrested with the support of operatives of the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) and one of them was shot in the leg while trying to escape.
Obuebite expressed de­light that the arrests were coming on the heels of Governor Seriake Dick­son’s meeting with tradi­tional rulers and Chairmen of Community Develop­ment Communities (CDC) where the governor direct­ly placed the responsibility of maintaining peace and safeguarding oil facilities in their domains on their shoulders.
Meanwhile, Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) has broken its silence over recent bombing of oil in­stallations in the Niger Delta region by Niger Delta Avengers (NDA).
MEND said the new militant group has nothing to do with the Niger Delta struggle.
The group, which insisted that it remains in existence after key members like Government Ekpemupolo also known as Tompolo, Ebikabowei Victor Ben also known as Boyloaf, Farah Dagogo, Eris Paul (Ogunboss), Wilson Reu­ben (General Pastor) and Africa Ukparisia pulled out to embrace the amnesty programme in 2008, stated that after careful review of events in the past 12 months, it has, “resolved to respect the unilateral cease­fire of hostilities declared on May 30, 2014 against key economic interests of the Nigerian State.”
The group, in a state­ment by spokesman Jomo Gbomo, noted that the de­cision to respect the cease­fire agreement “was borne out of MEND’s belief that as President Muhammadu Buhari marks his first year in office, he deserves more time to stabilise the coun­try that was allegedly ran aground by the ill-fated, corrupt and visionless past administrations.” It dis­missed the NDA and noted that its recent actions had nothing to do with the Ni­ger Delta struggle because of the people behind it.
Gbomo explained that MEND would not be part of the move to create a Niger Delta Republic.
Culled from Sun