By Our Correspondent
After formally declaring ceasefire on oil Facilities, the Niger Delta Avengers (NDA) last night took on the Joint Military Task Force (JTF) code- named Operation Delta Safe accusing the oufit of invlovement in oil bunkering.
The militant group which has been claiming responsibilities for bombings of oil pipelines in the region accused the military of justifying its operations by labelling every criminals as members of Niger Delta Avengers.
The group, which declared ceasefire last weekend, was reacting to the claims of arrest of three of its members involved in the killing of soldiers in Nembe in Southern Ijaw Local Government area of Bayelsa State by the Joint Task Force (JTF).
In a statement signed by its Spokesperson, Mudoch Agbinibo, the Niger Delta Avengers condemned security reports linking its operatives to the killing of the said soldiers.
“The High Command of the Niger Delta Avengers condemns the entire security reports linking our forces to the killing of military troops in Nembe Bayelsa state.
“NDA still wonders when this charade and acts of desperation of the Nigeria military, by always linking crimes in the southern part of Nigeria, to our fighters will stop”, it added.
NDA noted that It was a shame that Operations Delta Safe is still employing the old habits of deliberately dinning and wining with unaudited intelligence from political thugs, political paymasters and enemies of the Niger Delta to perpetuate its continuous funding and relevance by catching in on the hunger in the land.
“One question for the Commander of Operation Delta Safe! Who are the people perpetuating the ongoing illegal oil bunkerings in the Niger Delta at the moment? Because we have both video and pictorial evidences of your troop’s serious involvement in the pervasive crude oil thefts.
“We have records of how much profit you collect and make per day from these atrocities in the Niger Delta”, it asked.
To set the records straight, the destructive militant group siad it cannot go after the military’s Dane guns and ammunitions “Since the start of ” Operation Red Economy” our forces did not fire one shot until we have achieved this great success of crippling crude oil productions in the Niger Delta to about 800,000 barrels per day.
“Those gangs members paraded as killers of troops of ODS are well known followers of Mr Africa Ukparasai and Mr Timipre Silva, that were purposefully armed by the APC during the governorship elections of Bayelsa state…
“If your forces and formations comes under attack by notorious elements of your own political collaborators and calculations you should accept it as a friendly fire ( from your own dubious creations getting loosed and fighting back to protect their territories and bellies) and enjoy it whilst it last! excuse the NDA from your ” Pig and Mud squabbles”
“Yesterday was Arepo in Ogun state, today is Nembe in Bayelsa state where is the next state you want to involve the NDA in this your bread and butter security conspiracies and collaborations ?
“Please count us out of your incapacities and blackmails. Is this not the Operation Delta Safe that is the puppet and child of necessity of some jail Birds and political shenanigans like Charles Okah’s MEND and RNDA?
“We the NDA and Niger Delta People knows that you are not here to protect anything in the region rather you have come to perpetuate more crude oil thefts that is worst.As such, we have avoided everything that will justify your continuous stay and sour your illicit funds.
“Just a moment, in our reality checks, from Operation Hakuri two, Operation Restore Hope, Operation Pulo Shield and today Operation Delta Safe your formations and troops have always being the merchants of illegal oil bunkering activities in our Niger Delta.
“Your outfits in most cases deliberately trigger killings and kidnappings to make your services relevant.
“Conclusively, we want to ask if it is best practices for heads of military formations in the Niger Delta to become super rich months after been deployment, acquiring properties locally/internationally?
“It is our wish that, one day governments of Nigeria can think right and redirect these huge resources used to fund these your illicit and infamous outfits to achieving, especially some of the short term development frameworks in the Niger Delta, to the de-escalation of the perennial traumas the people are passing throughout the region”, it added.
