Nigeria: Fresh Oil War Looms In Rivers, Bayelsa

ALL is currently not well between Agip, an Italian oil corporation and the militants of the Niger Delta over an alleged killing of 12 Ijaw youths on Thursday at the instance of the oil company.

In the early hours of Thursday, June 21 2007, armed security forces said to be working for the Italian oil giant, allegedly attacked and killed 12 youths of Ogboinbiri in Southern Ijaw Local Government Area in Bayelsa State, who were said to be protesting against the ''unwanted and criminal'' killing of their kinsmen weeks earlier by the armed forces.

In a wire statement to this reporter on Saturday, Spokesperson for the Joint Revolutionary Council (JRC), a coalition of some militia cells, Cynthia Whyte, said ''this unfortunate incident has proved beyond all doubts how far the Nigerian state and her agents can go to ensure that they sit tight on our God given resources''.

Continuing, the militants added, ''all those who were party to this evil against our people will get their rewards in time to come. Nigerian Agip Oil Company (NAOC) will be visited by the same number of casualties, pain and misfortune''.

The obviously angry miliotia network said at a time ''we seek to join hands with progressive forces to ensure a better Ijaw and Niger Delta territory, the armed forces of the Nigerian state would have the temerity to attack our people and a mentally ill-equipped bunch of Ijaw elders would turn away their faces and allow this madness to be visited on a people who have been deprived of access to the good life which their resources have provided to other people and their lands. We will not forgive this''.

According to them, ''it is unfortunate and shameful that the Ijaw leaders on whose domain this evil was perpetrated could not intervene in time to avert this great misdeed done to our people.

Let us also inform all men of goodwill that all measures and reprisal actions taken against AGIP and her conspirators will be in no way related to our earlier decision to cease hostilities against the Nigerian state. This will be simply a 'payback' activity and will cut across AGIP's operations in Rivers and Bayelsa States''.

They are insisting that the death of the 12 young men ''must be repaid in the same manner. Justice must be done by any means necessary and however crude!''

ENDS

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