Less than 24 hours
after a dialogue
between President
Muhammadu Buhari
and leaders of the
Niger Delta to resolve
the crisis in the region,
unrepentant
militants on
Wednesday blasted an oil pipeline belonging to
the Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) in
Batan community in Warri South West Local
Government area of Delta State.
Sources told THISDAY that the incident occurred at SPDC
Camp Five between 4 and 5 a.m. with a huge fire
enveloping the site of the attack.
“Suspected militants attacked the SPDC pipeline in
Batan 4 and 5 a.m. with dynamites. As I am speaking,
the place is engulfed with fire but efforts are being made
to put it off,” a community source said.
Another community source confirmed the incident,
stating that they heard a huge explosion in the early
hours of the day only to discover it was a pipeline
belonging to Shell that had been attacked.
“We heard a huge explosion. As usual, when we came
out, we discovered that the Shell pipeline has been
attacked again. We are not sure whether it was militants
that caused it or not.”
The Niger Delta Advengers (NDA), the militant group that
has claimed responsibility for the destruction of oil
facilities in the Niger Delta, was yet to claim
responsibility for this one at the time of filing this report.
The same pipeline had been attacked by suspected
militants on July 18, this year without any resistance by
the military stationed in the area.
Security sources disclosed that the latest attack by the
militants might be as a result of the commencement of
repair work on the pipeline while negotiations are
ongoing between the Niger Delta leaders and the
Federal Government.
“You know that they have always warned that no repair
work should be carried out on any of the oil pipelines
breached. Maybe they are angry that SPDC has
commenced repair work and had to resort to the attack,”
a military source told THISDAY.
An undercover security agent however had a contrary
view, claiming that illegal oil bunkerers have deployed a
new tactic of engaging militants to breach pipelines to
divert the attention of security agents away from their
illegal act.