Niger Delta Avengers

Niger Delta Avengers
Dates of operation	January 2016 – present
Headquarters	Delta State (allegedly)
Active regions	Niger Delta
Ideology	Regionalism
Allies	Red Egbesu Water Lions Joint Niger Delta Liberation Force
Opponents	Nigeria
Battles and wars	Conflict in the Niger Delta
Website	[1]

The Niger Delta Avengers (NDA) are a militant group in Nigeria's Niger Delta. The group publicly announced their existence in March 2016.

The NDA have attacked oil producing facilities in the delta, causing the shutdown of oil terminals and a fall in Nigeria's oil production to its lowest level in twenty years. The attacks caused Nigeria to fall behind Angola as Africa's largest oil producer. The reduced oil output has hampered the Nigerian economy and destroyed its budget, since Nigeria depends on the oil industry for nearly all its government revenues.

The NDA's declared aims are to create a sovereign state in the Niger Delta and have threatened to disrupt Nigeria's economy if their aims are not met. The NDA claims its members are "young, educated, well travelled...and educated in east Europe". The group have criticised the President of Nigeria, Muhammadu Buhari, for having never visited the delta and his detention of the Biafran independence activist Nnamdi Kanu.

Description

According to the website www.gongnews.net, the NDA has been described as "the nation's tormentor-in-chief."

Timeline of activities

2016

• January 14 - Several gas pipelines and oil installations located in Warri South West were blown up following orders issued by a Nigerian High Court in Lagos to arrest the ex-militant leader Government Ekpemupolo.
• February 10 - At approximately 1:30am NDA militants blew up the Bonny-Soku Gas Export Line.
• February 14 - NDA militants destroyed Shell's underwater Forcados 48-inch Export Pipline at the Forcados Export Terminal.
• February 19 - At approximately 3:30am NDA militants blew up Eni's Clough Creek-Tebidaba Pipeline in Bayelsa State.
• May 4 - NDA militants attacked and heavily damaged the Chevron Valve Platform located at Abiteye, Warri South. This platform is reportedly Chevron's most significant platform as it serves as a connecting point where all of Chevron's other Niger Delta platforms link-up.
• May 4 - Shell's underwater Forcados 48-inch Export Pipeline was once again blown up by militants shortly after repairs commenced following the February 14 attack.
• May 5 - The Escravos-Lagos Pipeline System, linking Warri to Lagos was blown up by NDA militants.
• May 5 - The NDA's Strike Team 7 launched a coordinated attack on several Chevron oil installations located in Abiteye, resulting in the destruction of Chevron Well D25 and several other major pipelines in the area.
• May 6 - The crude oil pipeline linking Warri to Kaduna was blown up by the NDA's Strike Team 7 as well as a gas line that supplies both Lagos and Abuja with electricity.
• May 6 - Oil pipelines located near the villages of Alero, Dibi, Otunana, and Makaraba were blown up the NDA's Strike Team 7.
• May 9 - 3 Nigerian soldiers were killed during a shootout with NDA militants in the village of Foropa, Southern Ijaw LGA, Bayelsa.
• May 13 - The Chevron pipeline at Makaraba was blown up for a second time in 7 days following repairs done by Chevron.
• May 20 - The Escravos-Lagos Pipeline System was once again blown up by NDA militants following the commencement of repairs being done on the pipeline following the May 5 attack.
• May 25 - NDA militants blew up Chevron's main electricity feed pipeline, located at the Escravos Tank Farm at Ciera Creek.
• May 27 - At approximately 2:15am NDA militants blew Eni and Shell's pipelines 1, 2, and 3 located at Nembe, Bayelsa State.
• May 27 - At approximately 11:45pm NDA militants blew up several gas and oil pipelines belong to the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation located near Warri.
• May 30 - NDA militants were forced to retreat from the villages of Gulobokri and Eweleso, Brass following a series of clashes with Nigerian soldiers, resulting in the deaths of approximately 20 civilians, 2 police officers, and an unknown number of militants/Nigerian soldiers.
• May 31 - At approximately 3:44am Chevron's Oil Wells RMP23 and RMP24 located near the village of Dibi, Warri South-West, Chevron's highest producing wells in the Niger Delta, were blown up by NDA militants.
• June 1 - Five boats loaded with heavily armed militants attacked a houseboat near the village of Ijere, Warri South, where Nigerian soldiers were reportedly stationed. 2 Nigerian soldiers and 4 civilians were killed during the attack. The NDA claims they were not behind the attack and stated they will "bring the culprits to book".
• June 2 - At approximately 2:00am NDA militants blew up the Ogboinbiri-Tebidaba and Cough Creek-Tebidaba pipelines, belonging to Eni, in Bayelsa State.
• June 3 - At approximately 3:00am NDA militants blew up Shell's Forcados 48-inch Export Pipeline for a third time following a series of repairs done by Royal Dutch Shell.
• June 3 - At approximately 3:30am NDA militants blew up Eni's Brass-Tebidaba oil pipeline in Bayelsa State.
• June 8 - At approximately 1:00am NDA miliatans blew up Chevron's Well RMP20, located 20 meters from the Dibi Flow Station in Warri North LGA.
• June 9 - At approximately 8:00pm NDA militants blew up the Chanomi Creek oil facility, belonging to Royal Dutch Shell, near the village of Ogidigben, Warri South West.
• June 10 - At approximately 3:00am NDA miliatans blew up the Obi Obi Brass trunk line, belonging to Eni. It is one of Eni's most significant crude oil pipelines in Bayelsa State.
• June 16 - At approximately 4:00am NDA militants blew up a crude oil pipeline belonging to the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation in Oruk Anam LGA, Akwa Ibom.

External links

• Official website