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Nigeria oil militant group warns of more unrest

10 February 2010 18:19 (UTC +04:00)

Baku â€“ APA. A Nigerian militant group warned on Wednesday of further unrest in the oil-producing Niger Delta, saying that Vice President Goodluck Jonathan’s assumption of power as acting president was illegal, APA reports quoting Reuters.
The JRC is a coalition of ex-militants and community leaders in the Niger Delta. But the region’s militant groups are highly factionalized and it is not clear what operational capacity it has to carry out attacks on oil and gas infrastructure.
"Goodluck Jonathan’s Acting Presidency is an illegality cleverly crafted by those who feel that the Niger Delta is a conquered territory and can only be plundered and looted," the Joint Revolutionary Council (JRC) said in an emailed statement.
"We are even more convinced than before that a Niger Delta independence through armed struggle is the way forward."
The main militant group, the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND), said earlier it was watching developments and would react "at the appropriate time".
MEND said last month said it was ending a unilateral ceasefire and threatened renewed attacks on Africa’s biggest oil and gas industry amid delays to an amnesty programme caused partly by the absence of President Umaru Yar’Adua.