The Concerned Militant Leaders (CML), another Niger Delta militant group, captured a vessel with Liberian flag along Bakassi Peninsula of Nigerian wa­terways, Daily Sun reports. This comes as the group revealed that the next target for attack would be Frontier Oil in Eket, Akwa Ibom state. The ship was heading to the Nigeria Liquefied Nat­ural Gas (NLNG), Bonny, Rivers state before it was seized by the group.
General Ben, the spokesperson of the CML, revealed that they seized the ship as part of their griev­ances against the government of President Muhammadu Buhari and to cripple the economy. In a statement issued on July 20, Wednesday, Mr. Ben said they were yet to ascertain the number of crew members onboard the ship, continuing that they had every other information about the ship. He said: “The vessel has the following details (ex­cluding crew onboard), MMSI: 636015354; IMO: 9113551; gross tonnage: 25,202; Country Flag, Li­beria; Crude oil tanker and Pilot, Captain Marcus.” The CML ruled out any plan to negotiate with the Nigeria’s authorities anywhere, unless it is around the Atlantic Ocean, which is their area of con­trol. The spokesman noted that the group had not decided what to do with the vessel and crewmembers now, but would inform the government of their in­tention before Wednesday, July 27. He cautioned that no mili­tant group should negotiate with the government until it addressed the agitations of the Niger Delta agitators, especially the release of the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, Nnamdi Kanu, which CML, in particular, is con­cerned about. “This is the worst gov­ernment we have had since this democratic dispensa­tion. People are suffering and dying due to hardship and government does not want to listen to the grievances of our people.
“There is no time again for negotiation with any government, and no group, even the Niger Delta Avengers (NDA) should not do that. Government should wait for us and ex­pect more pipeline attack,” the group added. Renewed attacks by new militant groups in Nigeria’s oil-rich Niger Delta region since early this year have reduced Nigeria’s oil production to a 22-year low. Some experts believe that if President Buhari sticks to his sledge hammer approach, the violence will escalate and the target and tactics of militants may change as well, with dire cascading economic and security consequences for the country.
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