…Says such announcement a “provocative” act
Oscarline Onwuemenyi
20 August 2016, Sweetcrude, Abuja – The Federal government on Friday, sternly warned the militant group in the oil-rich Niger Delta region, the Niger Delta Avengers (NDA) against its planned secession from Nigeria, saying it is a treasonable offence.
The Force Public Relations Officer of the Nigeria Police, Mr. Donald Awunah, who stated this in Abuja said the security agencies would not allow any action that might lead to a breakdown of law and order in any part of the country.
Awunah advised the militant group against daring the might of the Federal Government, describing their reported plan to declare a Niger Delta republic on October 1 as provocative.
He further admonished the militants to channel their grievances through legal means, insisting that the police and other security agencies would not condone any act of lawlessness in the region.
He said, “I believe they (militants) know that it is a treasonable felony to declare a republic. The police and other security agencies will not allow any treasonable action to be perpetrated in any part of the country. They have been warned.”
The Niger Delta Avengers on Thursday threatened that it will declare a Niger Delta Republic on October 1, should President Muhammadu Buhari fails to restructure the country.
It also said the group was praying for the Buhari-led Federal Government to discover oil in commercial quantity in the northern part of the country so as to free the people of the Niger Delta from her oppressive tendency.
The NDA had claimed responsibility for major attacks on oil facilities in the region in recent past, vowing not to relent until the nation’s economy was completely crippled.
The group’s spokesman, Mudoch Agbinibo, stated this on Thursday in reaction to President Buhari’s order directing the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) to increase the tempo on oil exploration in the North-East.
The group said that once oil in commercial quantity is discovered in the North, its people would appreciate what the people of the Niger Delta have been experiencing in the hands of the Nigerian government.
The NDA stressed that the country was in dire need of restructuring to possibly save the country from doom, accusing the present government of dividing the country through her ‘misdirected policies.’
