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.

JTF to quell worsening security situation in Niger Delta

As previously reported in Nigeria P&S, the Nigerian army has deployed officers from the Joint Task Force (JTF) to the streets of Yenagoa, the capital of Bayelsa State, in a bid to quell the worsening security situation in the State.

Over the past few weeks, there have been numerous attacks on political office holders, politicians and other individuals in the State, a situation that has been attributed to the fallout of political factions in the State and activists of cultists.

Recently, attacks on the homes of impeached Deputy Governor of Bayelsa State Peremobowei Ebebi and Senior Special Assistant to the Governor of Conflict Resolution Mike Wenifowei were reported. On Friday 30th July, two men and a woman were killed at Imgbi junction, Yenagoa by a gang of armed men, and the home of the Chairman of Bayelsa State's Sanitation Authority, Reginald Dede, was also attacked by gunmen.

On Sunday 1st August, an attack on the country home of Governor Timipre Sylva, in which his octogenarian uncle was assaulted, was also reported. On Monday 2nd August, armed men invaded the country home of the Speaker of the Bayelsa State House of Assembly, Nestor Binabo, killing a 22 year-old man and injuring several others.

Opposing political factions in the State, who have both suffered casualties in the attacks, have predictably pointed accusing fingers at each other in the attacks. Head of the JTF, Colonel Timothy Antigha, stated that JTF's intervention was sought at the insistence of Governor Sylva and there was “no cause for alarm”.

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

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