ABUJA, Nigeria, June 16 (UPI) — The assault on oil installations in the Niger Delta continued Thursday with a group taking credit for blowing up a pipeline run by a national oil company.
The attack is the second in less than a week for the Niger Delta Avengers, which has declared war on the national and international oil companies operating in the region. The militant group, and others like it in the Niger Delta region, argues the government in Abuja has put revenue interests above the interests of its people. In its latest official statement, the group said the people of the Niger Delta have been asking for basic necessities since crude oil was discovered in the region.
“The NDA high command is restating our commitment to attack the interest of oil corporation and international refineries operators that bring in vessels to the Niger delta territory to buy our oil that every successive government have refused to use and reapply the proceeds towards any development in the region since 1958,” it said in a statement Monday.
The campaign in the Niger Delta comes at a time when the nation’s economy is struggling under the strains of low crude oil prices. In its latest survey, the International Monetary Fund said the challenges for Nigeria’s economy are “substantial,” government deficit has doubled and inflation is running close to 10 percent.
Of the 13 members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, Nigeria ranks seventh in terms of overall production. In a comment on short-term market disruptions in May, OPEC said “Nigerian output slumped to levels not seen in over a decade on the back of a wave of militant activity.”
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