The fearsome militant group – Niger Delta Avengers – has issued a fresh threat to attack and wreck some oil facilities, as it prepares to begin another round of violent campaigns against oil companies in the oil-rich region.
“This round of attacks will be the most deadly and will be targeting the deep sea operations of the multinationals which include Bonga Platform, Agbami, EA Field, Brtitania-U Field, Akpo Field,” the Niger Delta Avengers announced in a statement posted on its website on Wednesday.
Several attacks carried out in 2016 by the Avengers and other militant groups in the oil-rich Niger Delta were partly responsible for the slump in Nigeria’s oil output and by extension its earnings. Allowed to linger, the situation plunged the country into economic recession.
The group had threatened to launch “Operation Red Economy” on oil facilities in November 2017 but was dissuaded by the leadership of the Pan Niger Delta Forum (PANDEF), set up last year to chart a way forward with the Federal government.