Nigeria: John Togo's camp raided

Niger Delta militant leader 'General' John Togo's camp in the areas around the Tambou and Obubu creeks in Bayelsa State was raided last week by the Joint Task Force (JTF) team in a battle, said to have lasted for no less than five hours. A number of JTF soldiers, as well as considerable numbers of Togo's militants, are said to have been kill killed during the sustained military onslaught.

Togo himself, however, is said to have escaped, although there are other reports which claim that he died during the raid. He remains on the JTF's most-wanted list and, although some reports claimed that Togo has called for a ceasefire and is ready to surrender, the JTF, through its spokesperson Lt Colonel Timothy Antigha, has stated that it is unaware of any alleged surrender.

Togo , who heads the Niger Delta Liberation Force, is the only prominent militant leader who turned down the 2010 amnesty that was offered by the late president Yar'Adua.

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© 2011 Menas Associates

Agip oil facility in the Niger Delta attacked

The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) has claimed responsibility for attacking an Agip oil facility in the Niger Delta. The group sent an email to Nigeria's media saying its members were responsible for the attack on the Clough Creek oil station and warned of more hits on oil and gas facilities.

The statement read: "This attack and similar attacks on pipelines and flow stations which will take place in the coming days are a reminder to the Nigerian government and general public not to take our threats for granted.”

A spokesman for the joint military task force in the Niger Delta, Lt Col Timothy Antigha, said there were no casualties. He described the incident as “isolated” and said that MEND had nothing to do with it, adding: “We suspect a certain criminal called Gen. Passman to be the mastermind. Passman had threatened two weeks ago to attack the Agip facility if he was not given money.”

Clough Creek oil station was subject to militant strikes three years ago, and is currently being repaired.

Sources: Reuters, The Nigerian Observer, Afrique en Ligne

For more news and expert analysis about Nigeria, please see Nigeria Focus and Nigeria Politics & Security.