Police denies Avengers attack on NNPC pipeline in Akwa Ibom

The Akwa Ibom state Police Command has denied claims by the Niger Delta Avengers that it blew up a Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) gas pipeline in Nsit-Ibom Local Government Area of the state.

Murtala Mani, who is the State’s commissioner of Police, said the explosion was as a result of a technical fault.

“This is no militancy attack. Our men are on ground and the fire service had put off the fire. It is confirmed that there is an explosion in Obotim Nsit in Nsit Ibom Local Government Area of the state. People from the pipeline confirmed that the pipelines are old and overdue for servicing. There are technical problems in the gas pipeline’’, he said.

On Sunday, the Avengers had announced the attack in a statement on their website.

The group said, “11:30pm on Sunday, the NDA blow up Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) gas pipeline at Nsit-Ibom L.G.A, Akwa Ibom state. NNPC should check their pipeline if its system Anomaly.”

The group has also has claimed responsibility for a series of attacks on Nigerian oil facilities in the last few months.
Attacks by the group in the Niger Delta has pushed crude production in Nigeria to 30-year lows in recent weeks, although the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) last month said output was rising due to repairs.
The militants have called for a greater share of Nigeria’s oil wealth – which accounts for around 70 percent of national income – to be passed on to the region’s communities, and for authorities to clean up areas blighted by oil spills.

In late June, petroleum ministry sources said a month-long truce had been agreed with militants but the Avengers, who have claimed responsibility for most attacks in recent months, later said they did not “remember” agreeing to a ceasefire.

The group said its aim is to cripple Nigeria’s economy while demanding the secession of the Niger-Delta region.

Meanwhile, a former militant group, the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND has confirmed holding talks with the Nigerian Government over attacks on oil and gas facilities in the restive Niger Delta Region.

This comes after President Muhammadu Buhari announced that his government is talking to militants in the Niger Delta to end a wave of attacks on oil and gas facilities.