A militant
group in the Niger Delta region on Tuesday blew up a crude oil trunkline in
Ughelli, Delta State, barely 24 hours after Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo led a
Federal
Government delegation to the area in search of peace.
The attack,
which occurred at about 4.35pm behind SETRACO construction yard along East/West
Express Road in Ughelli, was said not to be unconnected with the alleged
ill-treatment and disregard for some monarchs in the state during the Federal
Government delegation visit.
The pipeline,
operated by the Nigeria Petroleum Development Company, was still in flames as
of 7pm when our correspondent left Ughelli, the scene of the attack, for Warri
on Tuesday.
Although
security sources in the state confirmed the attack under the condition of
anonymity, none of them could confirm the true cause of the incident.
They stressed
that they were mobilising in collaboration with the Delta State Fire Service in
the area to put out the inferno.
However,
another military source dismissed the claim that militants were responsible for
the attack, noting that indiscriminate bush burning was responsible for the
inferno.
When contacted
on the incident, the spokesperson for the Joint Task Force code-named Operation
Delta Safe, Lt. Col. Olaolu Daudu, could not immediately confirm the incident.
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