THE Niger Delta Greenland Justice Mandate ask residents to vacate oil facilities
From Paul Osuyi, Asaba and Ben Dunno, Warri
THE Niger Delta Greenland Justice Mandate (NDGJM), a militant group has warned residents around major oil and gas facilities across the region to evacuate with immediate effect in order not to end up as casualties of militancy.
NDGJM said all marked facilities in the region have been rigged with explosives at strategic points, waiting to be detonated, adding that the detonation was being held back because of the people in the environment.
“One more time, we are warning and at the same time appealing to residents around major oil and gas facilities across our region to please evacuate immediately.
“This warning has become necessary because of the fact that we do not wish any of our people, for whom we have taken up this crusade, to become casualties of our campaign.
“All the marked facilities in all the states have been rigged with explosives at strategic points, waiting to be detonated.
“We are only being slowed down because of the presence of those still living close by. This struggle will only cease when the adversarial Nigerian system yields to reason,” a statement by the group’s spokesman, Aldo Agbalaja read.
Agbalaja further warned the Federal Government to be wary of Chief Edwin Clark, insisting that the ceasefire declared by the elder statesman on behalf of militants was “a big fat lie, another charade.”
He said Chief Clark and his cohorts were desperate to make money from government, oil companies and the general public out of the present situation in the name of a “non-existent cease fire by the Niger Delta Greenland Justice Mandate.”
He maintained that there was no reason yet for the group to halt its assault against oil facilities when the government was “yet to move a muscle to respond to our requests,” adding the group has no member or talking leader by the name ODU.
“This said call and the so-called ceasefire is all a job, just like the Ijaw-dominated, Clark convened Niger Delta stakeholders meeting in Effurun was, they both are meant to justify money they hope to obtain from government.
“The high command of the Niger Delta Greenland Justice Mandate uses this medium to alert the world to disregard this fraud. We have our means of communicating, definitely not a call.
“With this development, if the Nigerian security system is serious about catching frauds and militants, they should get those who claimed to have spoken on phone with ODU, they should still have his physical contacts.
“When we make our next ‘LOUD’ statement, they should go after ODU, who just claimed to be the leader of the mandate,” the statement added.
It maintained that the group was not an Urhobo as has been reported in a section of the media, noting that as a result of the Urhobo tag, there has been reckless invasion of some Urhobo communities by the military.
The group has also reaffirmed its lack of confidence in the Chief Edwin Clark-led team to dialogue with the federal government. The group insisted it has not appointed anyone or group to go into negotiating with anybody or government on its behalf. The group, in a statement signed by Gen. Aldo Agbalaja, warned the federal government to be wary of the antics of some leaders in the region who out of desperation to make money are capable of doing anything to defraud anyone in the guise of championing the course of the Niger Delta region.
