MEND: Battle ready or showing off !

OGBOGBAGBENE bombing : WHEN on Tuesday, January 28, the fleeting peace in the Niger-Delta was shattered by some unknown gunmen, who stormed Ogbobagbene, the country home of the Minister of Niger-Delta, Elder Godsday Orubebe in Burutu Local Government Area of Delta State, and blew up parts of the sprawling mansion with explosives, many thought it was the handiwork of mischief makers.

Elder brother of the minister, Mr. Felix Orubebe, told a delegation of the Delta Waterways Security Committee, DWSC, Warri, which visited the community on a fact-finding mission that the bombers, who spoke in Ijaw language came with very sophisticated guns, and because of the calibre of weapons, nobody dared come out his house in the community to challenge them. The story that made the round  was that the bombers were sent by the former governor of Bayelsa State, Chief Timipre Sylva, who was purportedly discontented with the role Orubebe played in the troubles he was facing in his state. By that time, Sylva was still in office, but he lost his job barely a week after.

No hands in Sylva’s predicament

However, Orubebe, during a visit to his country home, denied ever accusing Sylva of sending militants to his home, saying he (minister) had no hands whatsoever in what was playing out in Bayelsa. Nobody claimed responsibility for the Ogbobagbene bomb attack. Delta State Commissioner of Police, Mr. Ibrahim Tsafe, laid the blame on those he called miscreants. When Vanguard visited the residence, there were bloodstains all over the floor; indication that some of the attackers sustained injuries during the incursion.

Fixing the puzzle:  However, on Sunday, February 5, the jigsaw started coming together, as the umbrella militant group in the region, Movement for the Emancipation of Niger-Delta, MEND, which has been in an indeterminate state for sometime, particularly, since the arrest and trial of the Okah brothers, Henry and Charles in South-Africa and Nigeria, not only claimed responsibility for the bombing of Orubebe’s home, but the bombing of an Agip trunk line at Brass in Bayelsa State on Saturday, February 4.

Its spokesman, Jomo Gbomo, in an internet post, noted: “This relatively insignificant attack is a reminder of our presence in the creeks of the Niger Delta and a sign of things to come.”

Though, a former field marshal and commander of MEND, Mr. Victor Ebikabowe Ben, alias Boyloaf, who is one of  the five founders of MEND said: “I can tell you that Jomo Gbomo is not an existing person. Anybody wielding a laptop can also use it. If I want to use it, I can.

Any of us (former militants) can use the name and we have used it before.”
The militant group in the statement said: “We have constantly warned Nigerians about Goodluck Jonathan and his train of idiots running Nigeria. Rather than address serious issues facing the nation and its citizens, Goodluck Jonathan squanders public funds on tribalistic sycophants and thugs calling themselves ex-militants.

“Nigerians should disregard the idle threats and ranting of imaginary militant groups and other hired “Jonathan praise singers.” Besides empty talk, they are unable to help Jonathan in any way. In fact most so called ex-militants are hiding in Abuja or Lagos, not venturing near their villages in the Niger Delta.

“Our silence thus far has been strategic and at the right time, we will reduce Nigerian oil production to zero and drive off our land, thieving oil companies. British petroleum is prepared to pay $25 billion compensation for the Gulf of Mexico oil spillage, yet for worse spillages in the Niger Delta; our people are paid with death at the hands of the Nigerian military.

“In the dark days to come, MTN, SACOIL, and other South African investments will pay a heavy price for the interference of Jacob Zuma in the legitimate fight for justice in the Niger Delta, by its people. The South African President has reduced himself to the position of a hired thug for Goodluck Jonathan. The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta, MEND, understands the negative impact our assault on the Nigerian oil industry will have on the ordinary citizen in a country which relies almost entirely on one source of revenue.

“Unfortunately, the extremely irresponsible, floundering government of Nigeria is more concerned with enriching themselves and family members than attending to the problems of the Niger Delta and the continuously depreciating standard of living of the ordinary Nigerian. A government incapable of managing roads, refineries, power stations and other basic infrastructure is again squandering valuable public funds on a committee tasked with investigating the viability of nuclear energy for electricity generation.

New chapter of struggle

“In this new phase of our struggle for justice, the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta, MEND, will pay considerable attention to dealing with security forces and traitorous indigenes of the Niger Delta.

In this regard, MEND wishes to confirm that our fighters were responsible for the attack at Ogbobagbene in Burutu local government area of Delta State, on the compound of Godsday Orubebe, Minister for Niger Delta.

“The general public is again advised to take very seriously, any warnings of impending bombings. Such warnings will always precede a bombing, providing sufficient time for evacuation. Specific members of the security services and the media will in addition to email, receive notification of an impending attack, by SMS in order to minimize the possibility of civilian casualties.”

JTF writes off MEND: JTF was not pleased that the group, which is supposed to be extinct, could be making such loud claims. The task force in a statement, February 6, by its media coordinator, Lt. Col. Timothy Antigha, dismissed as impostors those posing as a new MEND after the likes of Tompolo exited from the group.

Its words: “Following the dynamite explosion, which compromised AGIP manifold at Brass on Friday night, the Joint Task Force OPERATION PULO SHIELD have identified the following as the brains behind the dastardly act.

They are: Friday Burutu, Lord Onipa, Robinson Agagudu, Eyala Karo, Stanley Uduorie, Para Ekiyes and Rasmus Omukoro. Consequently, these suspects are advised to turn themselves in for interaction with authorities of the Joint Task Force in Yenagoa, latest 12 noon, February 8, 2012.

“The Joint Task Force wishes to reiterate its earlier warning that the suspects and their cohorts are out to swindle Niger Deltans by appropriating the identity of the erstwhile leadership of MEND to advance their selfish interest. For the avoidance of doubt, people who were the leadership of MEND are now responsible members of the society, having accepted the amnesty.

“In the light of these, the general public is advised to remain calm and discountenance the tissue of lies issued by these suspects as their raison d’etre, because the relevant stages of the amnesty which was granted to authentic ex-militants and all the attendant benefits are still on course.” The South African government on its part in a report by an official of its Ministry of  Foreign Affairs said that it trusted the ability of the Nigerian government to tackle the group.

MEND takes umbrage

Piqued by the dismissive manner the task force responded to the threat of the militant group, MEND, in another statement by Jomo  Gbomo said: “The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta, MEND, wishes to respond to the ignorant comments of the spokesperson of the Joint Task Force, JTF, Col Timothy Antigha, and the government of South Africa through its Ministry of International Affairs.

The JTF spokesperson in his little mind is failing to comprehend the gravity of the situation unfolding in the Niger Delta and attributes our attack on the Agip pipeline to instigation by imaginary persons interested in benefiting from the fraud that was the disarmament process in the Niger Delta.

“The Nigerian government claims to have disarmed more people than exist in the Nigerian Army with only two thousand weapons to show for all their trouble. The lull in fighting by all groups in the Niger Delta is being used to acquire more sophisticated weapons to ensure that our next assault on the Nigerian oil industry expels western oil companies once and for all. There is nothing the Nigerian military can do to halt us.

“Agip cleverly indicated that 4000 barrels of its production is affected by our attack. The reality is that close to 200,000 bpd of Nigerian crude exports is affected by our attack as that trunk line served to transport crude oil for other oil companies as well. This translates to a daily loss of at least 20 million US dollars

“To the South African government, we accept your challenge and will show you how easy it is to drive your investments out of our region. If the Nigerian government cannot protect companies like Shell and Chevron, how will they manage to protect an insignificant Sacoil?

Within the next few weeks, the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta will carry out a few major attacks on oil installations to demonstrate to the world the helplessness of oil companies and the Nigerian military. After these next attacks, there will be a brief pause as we await the time agreed upon by all groups in the Delta for the resumption of hostilities in the Niger Delta.”

Apparently not contented with its earlier retort, the militant group in another riposte, February 8, to the task force asserted: “The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta, MEND, advises Nigerians to disregard the pathetic attempt at propaganda by a very unintelligent spokesperson of the Joint Task Force, JTF, Col Timothy Antigha. As confirmed in early 2011, all statements posted on Sahara reporters and the times of Nigeria websites are authentic MEND statements.”

MEND regroups: Already, its renewed threat have created panic in the oil industry, but the poser is whether it is capable of stinging any more or merely grandstanding?  With Henry Okah and Charles Okah cooling off in detention and people like Tompolo, Alhaji Mujahid Dokubo-Asari, Farah Dagogo, Ateke Tom, Boyloaf, Shoot-At-Sight, Deadly Underdogs, Ogunbos and many others, having distanced themselves from militancy, it is not clear how the new MEND intends to prosecute a fresh war in the region.

The new MEND is relying on a new set of fighters, which it claimed are disenchanted with the state of things in the region. Among those in this rank are ex-militants, who have axe to grind with their former leaders, who they accused of short-changing them in the Federal Government’s amnesty programme.

Jomo Gbomo hinted of dark clouds in the region in his statement and painted a horrifying picture when he said the few major attacks to be carried out in the next few weeks were a mere teaser, as the militant groups in the region were regrouping for the main onslaught. Last week, the Presidential Amnesty Programme, announced for the umpteenth time that the amnesty programme had no third phase, but some ex-militants are parading themselves as members of Third Phase Amnesty Programme.

Sometime, last year, they laid siege to the East-West Road and obstructed traffic for hours. Special Adviser to the President on Niger Delta and the Chief Executive Officer of the Presidential Amnesty Programme, Mr Kingsley Kuku, in his reaction to the protest said the amnesty office had not received directives from President Goodluck Jonathan to admit new entrants into the programme.  

No more amnesty: In a statement signed by the Head, Media and Communication, Amnesty Office, Mr. Henry Ugbolue, the special adviser observed that the clamour to integrate new persons into the programme was against the principles of the 2009 Amnesty Proclamation. According to the statement, there was no basis for the protest by the ex-warlords as the time frame for the amnesty had expired.

It was learnt that those who may easily fall prey to the war drum of MEND are this category of agitators and true to type, another batch of ex-militants, who go by the name, Niger-Delta Phase II militants, few weeks ago, in Warri, threatened to return to the creeks if payment of their allowances through their erstwhile leaders was not discontinued by the Amnesty office.

Barricading of  East – West road

Only last week in Delta State, some aggrieved ex-militants in the Niger Delta barricaded the East – West road again in protest against their exclusion from the Federal Government Amnesty programme.

The ex-militants, who set up bonfires at Oghoro junction on the ever busy East – West Road, barricaded the road from 2.00 a.m till about 9:30a.m, causing gridlock on the road. Travellers were made to spend several hours to drive through the barricaded area of the road, even as some commuters who could not stand the menacing displays of the ex-militants fled into the bush for safety.

Spokesman of the Joint Military Task Force in the Niger Delta, Lt Col. Timothy Antigha, in confirming the incident disclosed that the leader of the group, one Ramsey was arrested and would be handed over to the police for prosecution at the end of interrogation. Going by the words of the spokesperson of the militant group, the gravity or otherwise, of the new  MEND will be determined in the next few weeks during which it has boasted to carry out major attacks on the oil industry.