Tension is rising in southeast Nigeria' s Delta State, after a clash erupted Wednesday between the Joint Task Force (JTF) and some militant groups operating in the oil rich Niger Delta region.
Unidentified gunmen suspected to be militants operating in the Niger Delta on Wednesday hijacked an ocean-going vessel, MV Spirit, with about 20 foreign expatriates on board.
The vessel, chartered by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC), was allegedly hijacked by militants from Camp 5 while sailing to Warri to discharge some condensate.
The tanker was seized around Chanomi Creek. Its crew and captain were reportedly taken to an unknown location around the Camp 5 area.
In the latest clash with the JTF, the militants claimed to have repelled an attack and killed several troops.
Rabe Abubakar, the JTF spokesman, said the army had been ambushed, but had lost no troops.
Jomo Gbomo, the spokesman for the main militant group, the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND), warned of an impending civil war in the oil producing region.
The group claimed that its special commandos launched pre-emptive, simultaneous attacks on two JTF marine bases in Delta state in response to a planned punitive invasion on some protesting oil communities.
The MEND said five gun boats and various support vessels were destroyed in one night, noting that the military resistance was weak after many soldiers caught napping abandoned their positions and fled.
"As we begin stripping the oil industry naked of an unreliable cover, oil workers are advised to don the cloak of common sense and evacuate all oil facilities in the Niger Delta before the arrival of an imminent hurricane," the group said in a statement reaching here on Thursday.
"Considering the extension of time plea by some oil companies, we are extending our quit deadline by another 48 hours to enable complete staff evacuation," it added.
"Effective 0000 Hrs on Saturday, May 16, 2009, the entire Niger Delta region will be declared a no-fly zone to helicopters and float planes operating on behalf of oil companies," the statement said.
In an earlier statement on Wednesday, the MEND said it had placed all its affiliate militants on red alert in anticipation of extensive attacks by the JTF, warning oil companies that their workers may become targets of reprisal attacks by the militants.
But in a counter statement, the military said the militant's statement was pure propaganda.
The JTF spokesman insisted that the militants were the aggressors, having ambushed the security operatives in the creeks on Wednesday.
He maintained that it was beyond the mandate of the JTF to attack militant location, unless as reprisal whenever its positions or strategic oil and gas installations were attacked by the militants.
The spokesman had earlier said the security task force had on Sunday seized a barge used for illegal bunkering in the Escravos export terminal area, but did not mention if the soldiers sank the barge in question.
Abubakar said despite the intensified operation by the JTF, code-named Restore Hope, some miscreants have resorted to kidnapping, a practice which has become a source of livelihood and a gimmick being used to scare away prospective investors. The assault is also seen as an attempt to portray the oil-rich region as unsafe.
He said the recent attack on JTF troops who were discharging their statutory duties by the militants and the hijacking of vessels chartered by the NNPC and cargo ship was a manifestation of their desperation for recognition and lust for material gains.
Militant groups claimed they are fighting for a better deal from Nigeria's oil, although they are accused of operating like criminal gangs.
In recent years, several armed groups have mushroomed in the Niger Delta and have taken advantage of the breakdown of law and order in the region to extort hefty ransoms.
Attacks and bunkering on oil pipelines in the Niger Delta have cut Nigeria's output by around a fifth, helping push world oil prices to record highs since the beginning of 2006.
The Niger Delta is an unstable area where inter ethnic clashes are common practice and access to oil revenue is often the trigger for the violence.
Pipelines are regularly vandalized by impoverished residents, who risk their lives to siphon off fuel.
Source: Xinhua
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