The Nigerian army on Sunday captured some leaders of the new militant
group, Niger Delta Avengers, after a raid on Oporoza, the traditional
headquarters of Gbaramatu Kingdom in Delta State.
The raid, according to sources, came after the militant group bombed another oil facility belonging to Chevron Nigeria Limited.
It
would be recalled that President Muhammadu Buhari had ordered the
military to capture the culprits by all means. Following this order, the
military invaded Oporoza twice within a week.
“Members of
Nigerian army captured five members of Niger Delta Avengers, one of
which is believed to be one of the leaders of the dreaded group.
Following the bombing, we established a wide perimeter and initiated a
high security search.
“The suspects were taken into the custody of
the army in the area, but are yet to make statements or admit if they
are members of the Niger Delta Avengers or otherwise. They have been
relocated to the 19th Battalion, Nigerian Army, Koko, Warri North”, an
army officer said.
It would be recalled that U.S. oil major, Exxon
Mobil Corp, on Friday suspended exports from Nigeria’s top crude
stream, following strains from unrest and violence by the militant group
that have cut production to its lowest in decades.
Exxon Mobil said it had declared a force majeure – a suspension of
deliveries because of events beyond its control – on Niger Delta Qua
Iboe crude oil grade, and that a portion of production had been
curtailed after a drilling rig damaged a pipeline, according to Reuters.
In
a separate incident on Friday, an explosion rocked Chevron Corp’s oil
well at the Marakaba pipeline in Warri, a security source said, the
second blast at a facility of the U.S. oil major within a week, feeding
concern over a revived militant campaign in the area.
Chevron had
no immediate comment, while Nigeria’s army, which has stepped up its
presence in the region. Penultimate week, Chevron said its platform in
Niger Delta was attacked by the militants.
The outages add to
production problems at two of the other largest crude streams, Bonny
Light and Forcados, which have already taken the country’s output to a
22-year low.
Shell shut a major pipeline earlier last week and
declared force majeure on Bonny Light crude exports on Wednesday, while
an attack in February on a pipeline also caused it to shut the 250,000
bpd Forcados export terminal.
Nigeria’s oil production has fallen
to 1.65 million barrels per day (bpd) due to militant attacks, Finance
Minister, Kemi Adeosun, said on Friday, from 2.2 million bpd
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