Violent attacks against oil and gas installations in the Niger Delta may have resumes as explosions damaged oil and gas facilities belonging to the Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) of Nigeria and the Nigerian Agip Oil Company around Ikarama in the Yenagoa Local Government Area of Bayelsa State.
Sources said that the explosions seems deliberate attacks on the oil facilities by a yet to be identified group or persons. There has been no claim of responsibility.
The attacks occurred one week after anger exploded in the Niger Delta region with the Presidency’s absence at one-day meeting major stakeholders’ meeting it convened in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, on Tuesday, with the six Governors from the South-South geopolitical zone and other important personalities from the zone.
The meeting was convened at the instance of the Chief of Staff to the President, Professor Ibrahim Gambari, to discuss the emerging threats to the peace in the Niger Delta region.
The Governors demanded a public apology from the Presidency for cancelling the meeting few hours before the scheduled time with the Chairman of the South-South Governor’s Forum, Dr Ifeanyi Okowa, describing the cancellation as a disgrace, embarrassment and disrespect to the people of the region.
President Ijaw Youth Council, Peter Igbifa, who was visibly enraged by the Federal Government’s action, threatened the shutting down of the nation’s economy if the region’s grievances are not given priority attention forthwith.
On Tuesday, a youth leader in the Bayelsa State community where the explosions occurred, Ben Warder, said residents heard loud sounds from the affected oilfields and were very afraid to go near the impacted area.
“The site is not far from Ikarama. We heard sounds from the blasts and it sounded like dynamites,” Warder said.
“It was not safe to go near, so when the situation became quiet we had to trace what happened and it turned out that Shell’s gas pipeline and Agip’s crude lines were destroyed.
“The incident resulted in air pollution from the gas pipeline and crude leak which members of the affected communities are battling to cope with,” he added.
Spokesperson for the SPDC, Michael Adande, confirmed the incident, saying the impacted facility had been shut down to curtail further damage.
https://frontend.1worldonline.com/widget/smart3-548d92f5.html#!/widget/9b0ba25c-5faa-433c-af72-a94897eb2780&type=widget&code=9b0ba25c-5faa-433c-af72-a94897eb2780&mode=smart3&token=9b0ba25c-5faa-433c-af72-a94897eb2780-1&location=https%3A%2F%2Fpunchng.com%2Fexplosions-rock-shell-agip-facilities-in-bayelsa%2F about:blank According to the SPDC Spokesperson, “we have a report of an interference on our pipeline about 1 kilometre from Ikarama community in Bayelsa State.
“We immediately shut-in the line and we have informed the relevant regulatory government agencies and stakeholders.
“A government-led joint investigation team will determine the cause of the interference.”
