Nigerian militants warn Chinese government and oil firms to stay away

The warning came two days after Chinese President Hu Jintao ended a state visit to Nigeria, during which the two countries signed a number of bilateral agreements, including those on oil and gas.
The bilateral agreements reaffirmed the grant by Nigeria of four oil blocks to China -- two located in the Niger Delta and two in the Chad Basin.

But the militants warned by investing in the oil industry, the Chinese government would be aiding the Nigerian government, which it accuses of "stealing" the resources belonging to the people of the Niger Delta.
"The Chinese government by investing in stolen crude places its citizens in our line of fire," the militants warned in the e-mail, signed by Jomo Gbomo, a leader of the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta.

In the e-mail, the militants cited a bomb attack allegedly carried out by them on some tankers taking gasoline from the Warri Refinery. They said the car bomb was activated by cellular phone utilizing 30 kilograms of dynamite. There were no reports of casualties yet. The attack came about a week after a similar one at a military base in Port Harcourt, also in the Niger Delta, in which three people reportedly died.
"We have resolved to take our campaign out of the creeks that every Nigerian may feel the true pains of the Niger Delta peoples," the militants said in their statement.

Attacks by the militants have cut about a fifth of Nigeria's crude production, following shut-ins by companies in the areas affected by the attacks. Militants have kidnapped and later released foreign oil workers, and blown up oil installations, including flowstations and oil and gas pipelines. The militants have warned oil companies operating in the Niger Delta to leave or risk being attacked.
"For the errant oil companies that still choose to remain and operate in our lands and waters, we shall come like a thief in the night," the militants warned in an e-mail.
 

Source: Dow Jones Newswires