A group calling itself the Niger Delta Liberation Movement, also known as “Movement”, has claimed responsibility for a pipeline explosion in Delta State, Nigeria. The group said it carried out the attack, which damaged several pipelines along the Olero-Dibi-Abiteye Fields/Flow stations, at around 2am on Friday.
The group described the attack as “the launch of ‘Operation Chevron Dragnet'” and warned that it would continue to target oil facilities in the area until its demands are met. The group’s secretary, Emmanuel Tagbanaraewumi, said in a statement that the attack was a response to Chevron Nigeria Limited’s failure to provide employment opportunities for local communities.
The group claimed that several host communities and organizations from the Itsekiri extraction had called on Chevron to make available its employment quota in the firm’s ongoing recruitment scheme, but to no avail. The group also accused Chevron of refusing to implement the Local Content Law and allocate the rightful quarter of the ongoing recruitment to the host communities.
This is not the first time the group has carried out an attack on oil facilities in the area. In June, the group claimed responsibility for a blast that damaged a gas line at Junction 19. The group has vowed to continue its operations until its demands are met.
The attack is likely to have significant implications for Nigeria’s oil industry, which is already facing challenges due to militant activity in the Niger Delta region. The Nigerian government has been working to address the root causes of the militancy, including poverty and unemployment, but the situation remains volatile.
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