Militant group tells residents to vacate homes

Niger Delta militants

Militants belonging to a group known as the Niger Delta Greenland Justice Mandate (NDGJM) on Monday, warned those around major oil and gas installations in the Niger Delta region to vacate their residence because it intends to blow up these facilities soon.

The group said all marked facilities in the region have been rigged with explosives at strategic points, waiting to be detonated.

In a statement by its spokesman, Aldo Agbalaja, the group said the detonation was being delayed because of those residing within the environment of the marked facilities hence the reason they should evacuate with immediate effect in order not to end up as casualties of militancy.

The statement reads in part, “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.”

The group also stated that the ceasefire declared by Chief Edwin Clark, the elder statesman on behalf of militants was “a big fat lie, another charade.”

The group 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,” while 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.