Niger Delta Avengers Announce Return, Threaten To Cripple Nigeria’s Economy With ‘Operation Humble’

The Niger Delta Avengers (NDA), a militant group notorious for attacking oil-producing facilities in the delta has announced its return.

The militant group which publicly announced its existence in March 2016 attacked oil-producing facilities in the delta, causing the shutdown of oil terminals and a fall in Nigeria’s oil production during President Muhammadu Buhari’s first tenure.

NDA crippled Nigeria’s economy between 2016 and 2018 by attacking oil facilities in the region which plunged the nation into recession.

The militant group in a statement made available to reporters on Saturday said it had launched ‘Operation Humble’ aiming at crippling the economy as it did in previous times.

The group, roughly halved Nigeria’s oil production in 2016, including an attack on an underwater pipeline that took it out for more than a year. It has since made a variety of threats but has not staged any attacks since 2017.

According to the statement, NDA said, “The Nigerian government has continued to pay deaf ears to our demands and the rising challenges in the country.”

It added it would “spare no single oil installation within our range of strategic targets marked for destruction in the coming days.”

The group also vowed to clamp down on politicians who are working with the Federal Government “to undermine the Niger Delta region”.

The statement in part reads, “It is disheartening that despite being the economic backbone and having resolved to maintain the peaceful environment for the smooth operations of the oil multinationals whose proceeds the country cling unto for economic survival, the Niger Delta and the South-South remain the most underdeveloped, with our needs and interests undermined by the failed Nigerian State.”

The warning comes as Nigeria’s legislature debates the share of oil wealth that will go to communities that host oil and gas installations as part of a wide-ranging overhaul of its petroleum laws.

The communities want a 10% share, rather than the 2.5% currently in the bill.