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Enugu State will serve as the co-ordinating centre for disarmament and the demobilisation of militants, THISDAY has learnt.
But Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria (SPDC) yesterday clarified its decision to suspend operations in Western Niger Delta, saying it was not as a result of increasing attacks by militants - who hit one of its facilities again yesterday.
Daily Independent (Lagos)
Militants on Monday blew up Shell pipelines in Forcados in Delta State, making nonsense of the amnesty offered by the government in exchange for the renounciation of violence.
The threat by militants to cripple Nigeria's oil export is gradually being actualised as Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Limited (SPDC) has suspended its entire operations in the Western Niger Delta, covering Delta State and parts of Bayelsa State, THISDAY has learnt.
DESPITE President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua's offer of amnesty to militants, Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger- Delta at the weekend said it had blown up a wellhead in a Shell oil field in Delta State, citing provocation from the Joint Task Force (JTF).
The Presidential Committee On Amnesty and Disarmament has reiterated that there is no condition attached to the release of the leader of Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND), Henry Okah.
According to Dr. Timiebi Koripamo-Agary, the Media Coordinator of the Presidential Committee on Amnesty and Disarmament, Okah, who is on trial in Jos, Plateau State, will be freed after diplomatic formalities had been concluded with the presidents of Angola and Equatorial Guinea.
Warri — MILITANTS in the early hours of today bombed an off-shore platform of the Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) located at Forcados in Delta State and purportedly sunk a military gun boat carrying between 20-23 soldiers, a claim that the Joint Task Force (JTF) on the Niger-Delta promptly denied.
Fresh pressure is to be launched in the days ahead by the leader of the Movement for the Emancipation of Niger Delta, MEND, Henry Okah, for the Federal Government to "quickly do something" on his renal problems, his lawyer, Mr. Femi Falana, has said.
Lagos — For the umpteenth time, Niger Delta militants yesterday attacked another oil installation in the region, blowing up a wellhead in an oil field operated by the Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC).
The current upsurge in attacks on oil facilities in Nigeria, and the political tension in Iran, which has resulted in the death of about 20 persons pushed oil prices to fresh highs of $71.23.
Abuja — The Presidential Committee on Amnesty and Disarmament for Niger Delta militants yesterday disclosed that the amnesty being offered to militant groups in the region would commence on August 6.
The committee further stated that within the 60-day grace period ending October 4, the Joint Task Force in the area is expected to observe cessation of military action unless in self defence.
Daily Independent (Lagos)
Abuja — National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) has disclosed that it registered about 3,500 displaced people from Warri just as it distributed materials worth N30 million to alleviate their sufferings.