MILITANTS BLOW UP POLICE STATION, BURN RULER’S PALACE

Armed youths invaded Bonny Island, an oil and gas export hub in Rivers State in the early hours of yesterday, shooting sporadically before burning down a police post and the palace of the traditional ruler, King Edward Pepple the Amayanabo of Bonny Kingdom .

State police commissioner Felix Ogbaudu who confirmed the report, said the gunmen also used dynamite in the attack, which happened between 2 am and 5 am

He could not confirm if anyone was killed or injured during the attack in the city which serves as headquarters of the multi-billion-dollar Nigerian Liquified Natural Gas Company (NLNG).

The security experts working for an oil major and a construction company said the raid took place in the middle of the night near the main jetty on Bonny and several vehicles were torched. The attackers fled in speedboats before dawn.

"Armed men attacked and razed the marine police building at the Bonny main jetty. Several vehicles were also torched," one of the security experts said.

He said the attackers were thought to be members of a local group that had recently written to state and federal authorities complaining that oil company funds meant for development of the region had been diverted by politicians.

The authorities had tried to negotiate with community chiefs to avert a crisis, but the attempt failed and local youths threatened attacks.

Such conflicts are frequent in the Niger Delta, home to Africa’s biggest oil industry which produces 2.1 million barrels per day.

Under corporate social responsibility programmes, oil firms provide funding for what they say are development programmes, but human rights activists say the money often gets used to pay off extortion racketeers, or is pocketed by politicians.

Competition for oil money has fueled many local wars between communities in the delta and numerous revenge attacks on police and troops, seen as agents of a hostile state.