Niger Delta Avengers Blast Buhari’s Aide, Garba Shehu

The Militant group, Niger Delta Avengers, on Wednesday took a swipe at the Senior Special Assistant to President Muhammadu Buhari on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, over his comments that the group killed and kidnap for no clear reasons.

In a statement issued by the spokesperson of the group, Mudoch Agbinibo, and posted on the group’s website, while denying the allegations, asked the presidential aide to get his facts right.

Shehu’s statement on Tuesday had claimed that the militant group which has wreaked havoc on the nation’s oil production in recent times, ply their trade in killing and kidnapping and asking oil companies in the region to stop operating.

Shehu’s statement reads, “Out of the blue, a group calling itself the Niger Delta Avengers, NDA spouts. They kill soldiers and policemen. They kidnap and kill oil company workers. Piracy on the high seas. They asked oil companies to stop operations and pack out of the Niger Delta region.

“They blow up oil pipelines, power and other infrastructure. They attack and kill prominent individuals, ransacking homes up and down the coastal areas, including lately, Lagos and Ogun states. All these for what.”

However, the militants said, “We want Garba Shehu (Senior Special Assistant to the president on Media and Publicity) to go and get his record straight. Niger Delta Avengers have not killed and kidnapped oil workers, we are not into sea piracy, and we have never killed Policemen.

“The Buhari led Government knows the people attacking soldiers and killing policemen. It’s their sleeper’s agents that are doing it, so they should stop tagging Niger Delta Avengers to killing, kidnapping, ransacking of policemen, soldiers and individuals in the region.”

It also dismissed reports that the group had entered into dialogue with the federal government during the recent ceasefire before resuming fresh hostilities.

“We the Niger Delta Avengers have not negotiated with anyone. So we don’t know where Mr Garba shehu and General Babagana Munguno, the National Security Adviser, are getting their information from.

“If they have been negotiating with anybody it clearly shows they had been negotiating with fraudsters and their (national security agency) created militant group,” the statement added.