Emma Amaize
02 April 2012, Sweetcrude, YENAGOA — WHILE Christians trooped to the churches to mark Palm Sunday in commemoration of the triumphant entry of Jesus Christ into Jerusalem, suspected ex-militants stormed the National Agip Oil Company (NAOC) with explosives and bombed five cluster oil wells belonging to the company.
The oil wells are located between River Niger and Tailor creek in Yenagoa Local Government Area of Bayelsa State.
It was reliably gathered that the bombing of the oil wells was led by an ex-militant leader, identified as “Commander” Cairo.
The ex-militant leader, who confirmed that he actually led the “operation”, in an interview on Sunday, said: “We, among other things, are protesting the underdevelopment of Niger Delta by the Federal Government.”
Reminded that the President Goodluck Jonathan hails from the same Niger Delta, he (ex-militant leader) said was underdeveloped, “Commander” Cairo said: “It does not matter whether he is from Niger Delta, the problem is that the region is underdeveloped. We will continue to bomb oil installations until they realise that they have to come and develop our region.”
Asked if the ex-militants who bombed the five oil wells did not encounter men of the Joint Task Force, codenamed Operation Pulo Shield, on the way, he said: “We did not meet soldiers and if we met them, we would have killed them.”
He said he was a member of the third phase amnesty programme, adding that he and many others were not accommodated in the post-amnesty programme by the Federal Government after they were wooed to surrender their arms by the government, with promises of rehabilitation and training.
He said: “Tell them, what we will do after this time if they don’t come to develop Niger Delta will be dangerous. We will bomb vital installations of the Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company (SNPECo), in our next onslaught and nobody will be spared.”
