As alleged peace talks break down before getting off the ground, and the Niger Delta militants claim another attack on a state-run oil pipeline, a second group has emerged, threatening an attack on a major gas plant in the region.
On Thursday, the Niger Delta Avengers (NDA) used its twitter feed to claim responsibility for an attack on an oil pipeline in the Oruk Anam Local Government area.
The pipeline is owned by the state-run Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), and the attack comes just days after the NDA agreed to talks with the government.
The NDA is calling for the military to leave the Niger Delta and believes the government is not earnestly pursuing peace talks. The group is also seeking independent meditators for any potential peace talks.
In the meantime, another militant group has publicly emerged in the Niger Delta in the form of the Ultorogu Liberation Movement. This group is now threatened the Otorogu Gas Plant in the Delta-the largest plant in West Africa--as well as oil facilities. They have declared their support for the NDA.
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In a statement, the newly emerged group said: "It is a secessionist move. The awareness of things happening in our environment is a means to outline our course of action. The awareness is an agitation for economic balance. We have a common enemy, the Nigerian Petroleum Development Company, NPDC and ND Western who hate your progress and wish you die in poverty."
By Charles Kennedy of Oilprice.com
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