Nigerian oil militants warn ceasefire in jeopardy

Jan 29, 2010, 12:55 GMT

Nairobi/Abuja - Nigeria's main militant group on Friday said that it may end a ceasefire declared last October and resume attacks on oil facilities in the Niger Delta.

Attacks by the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) had slashed the West African nation's oil production by around a quarter and helped drive up global oil prices when MEND responded to a government amnesty and laid down its arms.

However, MEND spokesman Jomo Gbomo said his group had become disillusioned by the government's failure to create real dialogue.

'The government has no plan to address the injustice in the Niger Delta,' Gbomo said in an email to the German Press Agency dpa. 'There is a likelihood that the ceasefire will be called off January 30.'

'We have been appraising the situation on the ground to determine the direction our future military campaign will take,' he added.

MEND says it is fighting for a share of oil revenue for Niger Delta residents, who complain that multinational oil companies have ruined their agriculture and fishing livelihoods and caused major environmental damage in the delta's creeks.

The government claimed 15,000 fighters took advantage of the amnesty to lay down their arms and sign up for training programmes, which have yet to get off the ground.

However, analysts say the ranks of supposed militants were bloated by criminals trying to escape justice and unemployed looking for a chance at work.

President Umaru Yar'Adua has been in undergoing treatment for a heart problem in a Saudi hospital since November, creating a political crisis in Nigeria and leading many opposition activists to say the country is rudderless.

Gbomo said that Yar'Adua's illness had 'negatively affected hopes of dialogue'.

'It appears President Yar'Adua did not delegate this very serious, peace-threatening issue to anyone in his absence,' he said.