Buhari hires Saudi mercenaries with $258million to tackle Niger Delta Avengers - Militants

We’re waiting for Saudi mercenaries,——Avengers

The Niger Delta Avengers, also yesterday, said it does not care if the Federal Government hires mercenaries from Saudi Arabia or anywhere to fight them. Reacting to online reports that the federal government had concluded agreement with Saudi authorities to deploy Saudi Blackwater mercenaries to the Niger Delta region to tackle militants that had been bombing oil facilities, spokesperson of the group, self-styled Brig Gen Mudoch Agbinibo, told Saturday Vanguard that NDA was not perturbed. A staff in The Royal Embassy of The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in Nigeria supposedly confirmed the $280 million deal, as part of the agreement in the Saudi-led Islamic coalition against terrorism to Vaxity. Anwar Eshki, a retired Major General, in the Saudi armed forces is reportedly the head of Blackwater, which undertakes such assignments for the Saudi Arabian government.

Niger Delta Avengers in its reaction, said:  “The Niger Delta Avengers do not care if the federal government hires or concludes plans to bring in Bluewater, Graywater, Pinkwater, Whitewater or Blackwater mercenaries from Saudi Arabia. It is none of our business, the Saudi Arabia, has its own problem of terrorism,  so coming here to help Nigerian government is funny. The Niger Delta region will win this war,” the group added.

Foreign mercenaries will exacerbate crisis

The Ijaw People Development Initiative, IPDI, also responding to the alleged move by government to hire Saudi mercenaries, said: “We want to reiterate that bombing Niger Delta communities or wasting $258million to hire fighters to fight the Niger Delta Avengers will not stop Niger Delta quest for self-determination.  Rather, it will aggravate and teach aggrieved youths better warfare and how to go about acquiring modern equipment to fight back tomorrow.”

The group in a joint statement by the national president and spokesperson, Austin Ozobo and Daniel Ezekiel, said: “We wonder why the government is so bent on wasting such huge amount of money to hire fighters from Saudi Arabia to fight a region that has fed the country for the past 58 years.  We are also surprised at the president’s decision to hire his Muslim allies to fight Niger Delta people.” It asked: “Why not Nigeria soldiers?  What happened to the 100 gunboats, 5 warships and 3 fighter jets earlier deployed to the creeks to fight Niger Delta Avengers, which turned into a venture of intimidating innocent people and invading communities?

Oil communities under threat- Mulade

Concerned residents of the communities have meanwhile appealed to the militants to sheathe their swords, and for government to dialogue with the militants to end the attacks and clean up their environments. Coordinator of the Centre for Peace and Environmental Justice, CEPEJ, who is also the chairman of Kokodiagbene community in Gbaramatu clan,  Mr. Sheriff Mulade, who spoke to Saturday Vanguard, said:  “Niger Delta  region has been turned into a battle ground as a result of confrontation between the military and militants.” “Oil communities are worried over the bastardization of the region by pipeline vandals, the current nefarious activities of the rampaging militants and the exploration and exploitative activities of the multinational oil companies.”

“Well over 75 riverside communities are adversely affected by the unabated bombings by militants, illegal bunkering and oil theft as well as the failure of the multinational oil firms to adopt environmental best practices,” he added. The NGO asserted: “We believe that the federal government reprisal attacks on militants will further bastardize the region as the environment is the only heritage of the people and the future generation will suffer greatly if the environment is completely destroyed.” The center  carpeted the International Oil Companies (IOCs) for starting  the militarization of the region when they engaged military personnel to man key and strategic facilities, thereby