Ijaw youths on Wednesday warned against further attacks of oil installations and pipelines in the Niger Delta region.
The youths described persons behind recent attacks on pipelines in Delta and Bayelsa States as enemies of the region, saying they should be arrested and treated like common criminals.
But the youths under the aegis of the Ijaw Youth Council (IYC) Worldwide appealed to the Federal Government and security agencies to extend their investigations on pipeline attacks to some scrupulous contractors working for oil companies in the region.
Addressing a press conference in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, the IYC President, Udens Eradiri, said the recent attacks on pipelines had nothing to do with the Niger Delta agitation.
“We condemn these attacks and we will continue to condemn them. It is not a means of attracting attention any more. We have moved beyond that. Those destroying these pipelines are destroying our livelihood, our community and the future of our environment.
“And so you destroy a pipeline to send a message to a contractor for instance, and then on the long run you destroyed your entire family lineage for decades to come.
“Nigerians must not misconstrue the destruction of pipelines with the agitation in the Niger Delta. So far as we are concerned all the incidence that had happened in recent time had nothing to do with the agitation of the Niger Delta,” Eradiri said.
He warned youths in the area to stay clear of oil installations, insisting that acts of sabotage were not only dangerous to the economy but also capable of ruining the environment for posterity.
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