  |
Nigerian oil rebels vow revenge on police for 'executions'
AFP
LAGOS
Petroleumworld.com 07 02 06
An armed separatist group in Nigeria's oil-rich Niger Delta region on Saturday vowed swift revenge for what it alleged were the summary executions of three of its members by Nigerian police.
"All three were summarily executed... on the orders of the Rivers State commissioner of police," said a statement sent to AFP by the armed separatist Movement for the Emancipation of Niger Delta (MEND).
"As a result of this, we have resolved to take retaliatory action against the entire Rivers State police command," it said.
Rivers State police chief Samuel Agbetuyi confirmed three people had been killed, but denied that summary executions had taken place.
"That is not true, it is a most unfortunate accusation, and very unfair to me," Agbetuyi told AFP.
An earlier police statement said the men had been wounded in a shootout and died on their way to hospital.
"Three people died in the process of an investigation, I was informed and briefed about the incident, we released a press statement because if something happens in my command, I have the responsibility to explain it," Agbetuyi said.
He added that the killings were being investigated and said MEND could make "formal complaints".
But the separatists vowed personal revenge.
"We will bring an immediate justice to the bereaved families of our murdered brothers. No policeman in Rivers State is exempt from our vengeance which will come soon enough," their statement said.
MEND warned it would target Agbetuyi, whom it blamed for ordering the alleged executions, "and all others directly involved in the murder of these three individuals."
"They were not armed robbers as the police claim but have at some point in their short lives, been involved in the struggle for the freedom of the Niger Delta peoples," the statement said.
Agbetuyi denied ordering the killings. "It has happened in my police command, but I didn't order it," he said.
MEND said the killings happened after two of its "freedom fighters" had been arrested on June 22 and the third had given himself up after being accused of theft.
The statement on Wednesday from police headquarter in the state capital and oil hub city Port Harcourt said: "The three suspects have been in the command's list of most wanted persons for offences of armed robbery and murder."
MEND has waged a series of attacks and kidnappings since January against oil industry targets in the region, a hotbed of unrest by separatists demanding a larger share in oil revenues and compensation for environmental destruction due to oil exploration.
The police statement said it suspected the three men of involvement in the robbery of a compound of the AGIP oil company in Port Harcourt on January 25, during which eight police officers and a civilian worker were killed.
Nigeria is Africa's largest oil producer and the world's sixth exporter. This year's wave of unrest has prompted the country's oil production to fall by an estimated 20 percent.
AFP 01 1346 GMT 07 06
Copyright ©2006 AFP. All Rights Reserved.
Your
feedback is important to us!
We invite all our readers to share with us
their views and comments about this article.
Write to editor@petroleumworld.com
Any
question or suggestions, please write to:
editor@petroleumworld.com
Best
Viewed with IE
5.01+
Windows
NT 4.0, '95, '98 and ME +/ 800x600 pixels