Barge, Equipment Sunk In Failed Attack On NPDC's Trans-Forcados Trunkline By Militants  

By Sylvester Idowu in Warri
Hell-bent on crippling the source of the oil revenue of the country, suspected militants again  attempted to bomb the Trans-Forcados 48″ Export Trunk line in Batan community in Warri South West Local Government Area of Delta State in the early hours of Tuesday.
Though the attack on the trunk line operated by the Nigerian Petroleum Development Company (NPDC) was foiled by soldiers, the militants succeeded in sinking a barge with equipment used for repair work on the line.
The attack came six days after the pipeline was breached in reaction to the outcome of penultimate Tuesday’s meeting between Niger Delta stakeholders led by Chief Edwin Clark and President Muhammadu Buhari.
Though the Niger Delta Avengers (NDA) came out a few days after to claim responsibility for last week’s attack, THISDAY checks revealed that it was carried out by some elements dissatisfied with the violent group’s romance with Chief Clark’s team.
Security sources told THISDAY that Tuesday’s attack was executed by the same aggrieved militants in two high-powered speed boats  around 3 a.m.
He disclosed that the militants, on arriving at the scene, fired shots severally to scare away five armless surveillance guards, stationed to oversee the equipments and other facilities overnight pending when repair works will continue the next day.
“They came in two boats, about eight of them, fired several shots and scared away the unarmed surveillance guards employed to watch the site of the repair works and equipment used for the repair. Then they planted explosives on top of equipment, trunk line and barges in the area.
“Unfortunately for them, only one explosive went off while the timely warning shots from nearby soldiers saved the others from being detonated. They fled on hearing the shots and abandoned their mission”, the security source said.

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