MEND threatens to bomb Lagos, Abuja, Niger Delta

AFTER a long lull, militants staged a worrisome return to national consciousness yesterday. 

The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) threatened to bomb Lagos, Abuja and the Niger Delta – a threat the authorities dismissed with a wave of the hand.

The group said it decided to embark on simultaneous bombings in the major cities and the oil producing region because President Goodluck Jonathan had failed to address key issues bothering the Niger Delta.

MEND claimed responsibility for last October’s Independence Day bombings in Abuja for which its leader, Henry Okah, is on trial in South Africa.

Five other suspects, including Okah’s brother, Charles, are on trial in Abuja. The attacks left 12 dead and 17 injured.

But security agents yesterday sniggered at the MEND threat, saying they are up to the task.

“We are not given to threat by any criminal gang or group in guise of MEND. The police are ever ready to prevent any act of criminality against innocent Nigerians,” Inspector General of Police Hafiz Ringim said, in a statement by Force Public Relations Officer Olusola Amore.

The statement added: “Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty. The police will forever be vigilant to ensure that those with criminal tendency among us do not perpetuate crime against innocent Nigerians. We don’t know whether it is MEND but any criminal gang in the name of any group or any guise would not be allowed to perpetrate crime against innocent Nigerians.

“We are seeking information from Nigerians on anybody who sees any strange movement or anybody that you know wants to perpetuate crime because we need to work with information. So, we are asking all Nigerians to be vigilant and to work in collaboration with the police to prevent the few criminal elements among us from making living difficult and impossible for the majority of Nigerians.”

In Lagos, the Commissioner of Police in charge of the Bomb Disposal Squad, Mr Ambrose Aisabor, said: “For now, we do not have any information like that, but we are prepared for any eventuality. My men are scattered everywhere around the country and they are ready to crush anybody who attempts to sabotage our national security.”

He advised the public not to panic.

The Commissioner of Police, Lagos State Command, Mr Yakubu Alkali, said policemen in the metropolis were on both foot and motorised patrol and would protect the citizens.

The Joint Task Force (JTF), the military outfit overseeing security in the Niger Delta, also promised to keep the peace. Its spokesman Lt.-Col. Timothy Antigha said it was up to the task of containing MEND. He added, however, that since the militant group said bombings and attacks would be extended to Lagos and Abuja, it had become a matter of national importance and consultations with relevant authorities would be made.

The MEND threat will further heat up the atmosphere, ahead of the general elections just 17 days away. Violence at some political rallies has marred the campaigns.

It is not the first time that MEND would threaten to attack Lagos. The militant group on July 21, 2009, struck at the Atlas Cove Jetty in the commercial capital.

In Suleja, Niger State, bombs were thrown at a Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) campaign rally on March 3, killing 10 persons and injuring many others. 

There have been several violent attacks on political opponents.

In an online statement yesterday, MEND said it would attack oil installations in the Niger Delta and other strategic locations in Abuja and Lagos.

It also accused President Jonathan of unwillingness to address the key issues of the Niger Delta region, which is rich in crude oil and gas, but neglected over the years.

MEND spokesman Jomo Gbomo said in view of the militant group’s determination to avert avoidable loss of innocent lives, it would issue advance warnings for immediate evacuation, and a final warning  30 minutes prior to the blasts.

The group said: “MEND advises the general public in the strongest of terms to stay clear from all political gatherings or meetings of any sort.

“It should be recalled in our last Independence Day bomb blast that it was due to the callousness of the Nigerian security services and ignorance of the general public that led to the fatality.

“Again, anyone who chooses to ignore this warning does so at their own peril, as the aftermath of these blasts will be catastrophic.

“The government of Goodluck Jonathan has shown its unwillingness to address the key issues of the Niger Delta, but chosen, instead, to continue doling out bribes to thugs and plunder the resources of the Niger Delta into his presidential campaign while deceiving the world and Nigerians that there is peace in the Niger Delta.

“Our revolution, like our fellow brothers in Northern Africa, will start with the crippling of the Nigerian oil industry, to flush out all Western oil companies operating in the Niger Delta region and the simultaneous bomb blasts never anticipated in the history of this country.”