Militants bomb Agip facility in Bayelsa

Independent

16 March 2011

Militants bomb Agip facility in Bayelsa   
               

•Bomb scare at Port Harcourt Airport, plane evacuated

Multiple explosions on Tuesday night rocked Agip flow station in Egbema-Angalabiri and Letugbene in Bayelsa State.

In Port Harcourt on Wednesday, there was a bomb scare at the city’s airport, necessitating the evacuation of an Arik Air plane, while Aso Rock chose Lagos as its launch pad to ease tension.

Presidential Adviser on Niger Delta, Kingsley Kuku, disclosed in Lagos that the government is ready to talk to the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) to stave off its threat issued on Monday to bomb Abuja, Lagos, and the Deep South.

Abuja will engage the MEND to find lasting peace, Kuku stated, stressing that the line of dialogue is open, as there is no illusion that the MEND does not exist.

However, down in Bayelsa, Joint Task Force Spokesman, Lt. Col. Timothy Antigha, said the explosions were politically motivated as they did not occur anywhere close to the oil facility.

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Leader of the Movement for Survival of Ogoni People (MOSOP), Ledum Mitee, condemned the blasts.

He said violence cannot be an answer to the issues in the Niger Delta, and we can achieve peace  by dialogue. We should continue to dialogue as that is the way forward for peaceful development in the Niger Delta.”

Former Ijaw Youth Congress (IYC) President, Chris Ekiyor  appealed to the perpetrators of the act that "if they have grievances they should bring them to the table so that we can solve them together.

"Bombing will not solve the problem.”

Niger Delta Liberation Front (NDLF) Spokesman, Mark Anthony, urged the MEND to avoid terrorism and understand the fact that the principal rule behind Niger Delta struggle is to fight for freedom and justice, not by destroying the economy through bombing of oil installations and killing innocent persons through bomb attacks.”