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Militants to US: Steer Clear of Niger Delta

[righand99]

Militants to US: Steer Clear of Niger Delta Say ‘No deal until Dokubo’s release’ From Segun James in Warri and John Iwori in Port Harcourt, 02.24.2006 The crisis in the Niger Delta assumed international dimension yesterday as the Warri Ijaw Peace Monitoring Group (WIPMG) sent a warning to the government of the United States of America (USA) to steer clear of the Niger Delta or its forces shall be disgraced if it dares the people. The Chairman of WIPMG, Chief Patrick Bigha in a statement in Warri said that information at their disposal revealed that the US government intends to send its Marines to assist the Nigerian Army in rescuing the nine expatriate hostages. Bigha said such action will not only be resisted by the people but it shall end in disaster for the American forces. “Take note that the Niger Delta is not Afghanistan or Iraq and any attempt to dare us will end in a blood bath and the greatest defeat in the history of the American Army”. Bigha warned the Federal Government not to make the mistake of inviting the Americans as it would be counter productive in the end. Meanwhile as the Federal Government intensifies effort to secure the release of the nine expatriate oil workers held hostage in the Niger Delta, their captors have said no negotiation would start until the leader of the Niger Delta Peoples Volunteers Force (NDPVF), Alhaji Mujahid Dokubo-Asari is released. The spokesperson of the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) and Leader of the Martyrs' Brigade, Cynthia Whyte, said in a statement circulated online that time had passed when the groups were listening to the pleas of Ijaw elders. The statement said the hostages would be held for as long as the militants would determine, adding that if government make any attempt at testing their resolve, they would kill the hostages. "In a show of goodwill to the international community and as a show of reverence to our elders, we succumbed to pressures to release the earlier seized hostages. Rather than begin to orchestrate processes that will jumpstart positive dialogue directed towards improving the quality of life of our people, the Nigerian state began its campaign to decimate our population by killing our people so that they can reap our oil with ease and zeal. Enough is enough!! "Any negotiation that does not begin with the release of our illustrious son and flag bearer of the Ijaw struggle, Alhaji Mujahid Dokubo-Asari is a waste of time. Any attempt to circumvent the wheel by the despotic Nigerian state will be met with the angers of our ancestors whose spirits we fight with today. "We shall keep the hostages and there shall be no tea party any more. We will no more be given to the intervention of our elders who will only be used and dumped by the agents of the Nigerian state who had the guts and effrontery to label us rascal elements and terrorists. If they are bent on testing our resolve, we will kill all the hostages", they warned. They further restated their earlier call for all foreign oil prospecting companies to evacuate the region, as the attacks on oil workers and installations would not cease until they have achieved their aims. "This is not the time for talk as we are too angry to talk. We have been pushed to the wall and the enemy must crawl. "Let us once again restate our warning to every iota of oil and gas operations in the Niger Delta especially the chief imperialist collaborator of the Nigerian state. Leave now or we will hit you so hard that you will never recover again", they warned.