MEND Nigeria-Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta-MEND-Official News Site -tracking News, Articles, Interviews and Opinions, related to MEND- from 1999 to Present
Are Nigerians to believe that only six soldiers of the Nigerian Army (a major and five lower ranks) executed the plot that resulted in the alleged illegal arms supply to militants?
Whatever we believe, a general court martial in Kaduna sentenced them to life imprisonment on November 18.
Movement for Emancipation of the Niger-Delta (MEND) and the Commander Joint Task Force (JTF) on the Niger-Delta in charge of Delta and Bayelsa states, Brigadier-General Nanven Wuyep Rimtip fell out, yesterday, over an unconfirmed charge by the militant group that the JTF boss is involved in oil theft and has been compromised by the Chevron Nigeria Limited, which is allegedly building a house for him in his hometown.
SOME operators in Nigeria's oil and gas industry have expressed fear over the possible implications of a seeming northernisation of the oil and gas industry, noting that it could spark further attacks by militants on facilities, leading to increase in the shut-in volume.
LEADERSHIP of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has called on the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) and other militant groups to stop using workers in the region as sacrificial lambs by killing or kidnapping them, just as they also maintained that military occupation cannot solve the problem of the Niger Delta question.
Kaduna — The general court martial trying officers and soldiers involved in illegal sale and possession of arms Saturday concluded its sitting in Kaduna.
The Court presided over by Brigadier General Bala Usara, while rounding off its sittings sentenced two soldiers, Private Caleb Bawa and Lance Corporal Alexander Davou to life jail terms for selling another 101 G3 rifles belonging to the Nigerian Army to the Henry Okah-led Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND).
Tension over the recent life imprisonment of six soldiers by the General Court Martial (GCM) of the Nigeria Army for supplying 7,000 arms of different specifications to the Movement for Emancipation of the Niger-Delta (MEND) at a cost of N100 million escalated, yesterday, as the militant group demanded an open re-trial of the jailed soldiers, saying their conviction was a set up to nail its assumed leader, Henry Okah.
opinion
Lagos — In the November 5, 2008 edition of one of the National dailies, the Vice Chancellor of Ebonyi State University, Professor Ogah described Post- JAMB test as nothing but a contrivance for fleecing Parents by the Officials of Nigerian Universities. I must commend him for his uncommon candour and selflessness, particularly for someone who ought to be a beneficiary of the scheme.
One of the South African-based associates of the assumed leader of the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta, MEND, Henry Okah, in this exclusive interview with Sunday Vanguard, explains why the group will not disband, even if Okah, currently being secretly tried by government for alleged gun-running, is released. The associate, who spoke anonymously, said the Niger Delta agitation may enter a new phase if the region's problems were not resolved.
MOVEMENT for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) says it does not know the Sunny Bowei Okah, said to a brother to Henry Okah, who the 10-man General Court Martial (GCC) that recently sentenced Major Suleiman Akubo and five other soldiers to life jail claimed bought 7,000 arms of different descriptions at about N100 million from the convicted persons for use by Niger-Delta militants.
The Joint Task Force (JTF) on the Niger-Delta, in the early hours of yesterday (Friday) deployed military helicopters and gunships in the creeks of Bayelsa State to track down fleeing crude oil thieves suspected to have shifted base to the state.