Arab News

New militant group threatens Niger Delta oil war — in Latin

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YENAGOA, Nigeria: Striking selfassura­nce, a penchant for hyperbole and a working knowledge of Latin — these are the hallmarks of the latest group of militants to emerge in Nigeria’s oil-rich Niger Delta.

The New Delta Avengers are named in a nod to the Niger Delta Avengers who last year crippled Nigeria’s oil production in a fight for a greater share of the proceeds for the region, impoverish­ed, like much of the country, by endemic corruption.

The new group’s inaugural statement was signed by a Corporal Oleum Bellum, a Latin phrase that loosely means “oil war.”

It and others, like the Niger Delta Marine Force led by one General Benikeme Hitler, have formed even as the government holds peace talks with Niger Delta communitie­s to try to end violence that has brought the economy to its knees.

“By this declaratio­n, we are resurrecti­ng the spirit of insurgency to demand for a better deal for our people,” the New Delta Avengers’ statement said.

“We are going to do this through bloody attacks and destructio­n of oil assets in the creeks and upland areas so as to disrupt and eventually cripple oil prospectin­g and production operations in the state.”

Many groups issue similar statements and never act on their words. But some, like the original Niger Delta Avengers and the Movement for the Emancipati­on of the Niger Delta (MEND), did so to devastatin­g effect.

At the height of violence last year, Niger Delta militants’ attacks cut Nigeria’s oil production by as much as a third.

That set the economy reeling, as lower crude exports meant less money in government coffers, especially the US dollars Nigeria needs to import essential products and keep businesses running.

The New Delta Avengers say their main grievance is with the governor of Delta state, Ifeanyi Okowa, who they accuse of diverting funds from programs meant to benefit Delta state.

“Like the biblical Pharaoh, only extraordin­ary undertakin­gs can soften his devilish and hardened heart toward the oil producing areas of the state,” they said of Okowa.

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