Bayan-Men, a new militant group in the Niger Delta region, has blown up an oil facility operated by the Nigerian Agip Oil Company in Ogba-Egbema-Andoni Local Government Area, Rivers State.
The angry militants, who destroyed oil well, OB5, said they were fighting for justice for their people.
The Commander of the Bayan-Men group, who accused the oil firm of failing to deal directly with the host communities, said the company refused to allow the people to benefit from their operations in the area.
Alleging that the Nigeria Agip Oil Company was neck-deep in divide and rule, the militant group said: “The only thing we want Agip to do is to deal directly with the 27 communities of Omoku, according to the Federal Government resolution.
“We don’t want Agip to be negotiating with anybody. They should deal with the communities. If they continue like this, what we have done now is small to what we will do if they continue. They should keep us together and treat us as one. They should treat communities individually.
“We are not joking. We are not interested in killing anybody. Our interest is that they must do the right thing else we will keep blowing up their facilities. We are giving them 24 hours to start the process of doing the right thing.”
The Coordinator-General, Omoku Community Youth Leaders Forum (OCYLF), Ekeuku Pureheart, however, confirmed the incident, stating that the development may have arisen because of Agip’s failures to obey the demands of the people.
Pureheart, however, urged Agip should recognise the various communities to prevent further attacks.