The United States (US) government through its
mission house in Nigeria, Tuesday expressed worry
over the increasing spate of violence and the use
of explosions on pipelines and gas installations in
the Niger Delta region

...Says dialogue must come with sincerity
Governor Ayodele Fayose of Ekiti State, on Tuesday,
commended President Muhammadu Buhari for
listening to wise counsel by opting to negotiate with
the Niger Delta Militants, especially the Niger Delta
Avengers (NDA) and suspending military action,
saying, "the President must face the reality that
democracy is about negotiation and concession."

Niger Delta group, the Joint Niger Delta
Liberation Force, on Monday reiterated its
decision to unleash six missiles on the
country.

Threat by a militant group, Joint Niger Delta
Liberation Force (JNDLF), to launch six missiles in
the Niger Delta from Tuesday has sparked panic in
the geo-political zone.

PARIS, JUNE 4, 2016: THE Nigerian Air Force said
on Friday that it has deployed additional fighter jets,
helicopter gunships to join the ''Operation Pulo
Shield'' in Nigeria's Niger Delta region.

WARRI, Nigeria -- Community leaders in Nigeria's oil-producing Niger Delta are voicing support for a new group of violent militants, saying their demands for a greater share of oil wealth match the aspirations of local people to protest decades of abuse and pollution.

Participants in a stakeholders' meeting Thursday in Warri accused Nigeria's government of a heavy-handed military response and warned such a campaign will not stop attacks that have cut oil production by more than 40 per cent. The attacks have caused Nigeria to lose its position as the conti nent's biggest producer to Angola.

A bomb attack Thursday forced U.S.-based oil major Chevron to halt onshore activities in Nigeria at its 160,000-barrel a day Escravos export terminal. It was the third attack this month on Chevron.

In a surprise development, civilian leaders sided with the attackers, calling them "armed agitators" protesting failed government policies.

"Until the issues of resource control that the Niger Delta people have been fighting for since 1960 are addressed ... there can be no peace," said Udengs Eradiri, president of the Ijaw Youth Congress.

Leaders called for "true fiscal federalism" and self-determination.

The Niger Delta Avengers, who have claimed recent attacks, have been calling for secession.

Politicians have been trading accusations about who is sponsoring the Avengers, with southern politicians accusing the party of President Muhammadu Buhari, a northerner, of fomenting a crisis to allow it to militarize the south; Buhari's supporters say it's an attempt to embarrass his government by adherents of former President Goodluck Jonathan, a southerner.

The attacks come as Buhari's year-old government is weighed down by crises: shortages of electricity, fuel and foreign currency and an imminent devaluation of the naira currency caused by plunged oil prices, the ongoing Boko Haram Islamic extremist uprising in the northeast and ethnic unrest in central Nigeria.

Source:
http://www.ctvnews.ca/mobile/business/nigeria-local-leaders-back-militants-hitting-oil-production-1.2920280

Another explosion rocked Chevron Nigeria Limited’s
facility in the oil rich Niger Delta on Friday.