LAGOS: Nigeria has arrested seven suspects for allegedly supplying high-calibre explosives and detonators to militants wreaking havoc on key pipelines and facilities.
National Security Adviser Maj.-Gen. Mohammed Monguno said on Thursday the explosives were diverted from an explosives-distribution company in the Niger delta to the rebels.
“A detailed audit of the records of explosives magazines and quarries in that region was conducted, which revealed the diversion of about 9,000 kg of high explosives and 16,420 pieces of detonators for illegal use,” he said.
“The actors, including the storeman of a major explosives distribution company in Nigeria, an accomplice and five security operatives, have been arrested and handed over to the appropriate authorities,” he said.
Monguno said an inquiry has been launched.
“Right now, investigations are being conducted and I can assure you that they are deeply culpable and necessary action will be taken on the conclusion of these investigations,” he said.
He said any company implicated in the illegal diversion will be sanctioned.
“Any individual or company that operates outside the confines of legitimacy or legality will have itself to blame, and we want to add that the government of the day will not listen to... any company that decides to sabotage national security.”
Nigeria has been plagued with devastating attacks by militant group the Niger Delta Avengers (NDA) since the start of the year.
Oil majors like Shell, Chevron, Exxon, Eni and state-run Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation have been targeted.
The attacks have slashed output at a time when Nigeria is struggling with low global crude prices which have hammered government revenues, weakening the naira currency and pushing up inflation to 16.5 percent, an 11-year high.
The rebels want oil majors to leave the Niger delta, blaming them for contributing to widespread poverty and under-development of the region.
They also seek self-determination for the oil-producing states in the delta.
The Avengers, who have spurned a government truce, are believed to have sympathies for Government Ekpemupolo, alias Tompolo, a fugitive former militant leader wanted for corruption charges.
Abuja arrests 7 for supplying explosives to rebels
Abuja arrests 7 for supplying explosives to rebels
US will respond to Rwanda’s violation of peace pact, says Rubio
- Waltz told the Security Council meeting that the US “is deeply concerned and increasingly disappointed” by this resurgence of violence
WASHINGTON: Top US diplomat Marco Rubio said on Saturday that Rwanda had clearly violated the peace agreement it signed with the Democratic Republic of Congo in Washington last week and vowed unspecified “action” in response.
The Rwandan-backed M23 armed group advanced in eastern DRC and seized the key border city of Uvira, just days after the leaders signed the “Washington Accords” on Dec. 4.
“Rwanda’s actions in eastern DRC are a clear violation of the Washington Accords, and the US will take action to ensure promises made to the President are kept,” Secretary of State Rubio wrote on X.
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UN peacekeeping chief Jean-Pierre Lacroix warned the new offensive ‘has revived the specter of a regional conflagration with incalculable consequences.’
The capture of Uvira, along the border with Burundi, has raised fears that the conflict could escalate into a regional war.
As part of an offensive launched at the beginning of December in South Kivu province, the armed group’s takeover follows its earlier this year capture of Goma and Bukavu, other major cities in the DRC’s mineral-rich east.
On Friday, US Ambassador to the UN Mike Waltz accused Rwanda of “leading the region toward more instability and toward war.”
“The Rwandan defense forces have provided materiel, logistics, and training support to M23 as well as fighting alongside M23 in DRC with roughly 5,000 to 7,000 troops,” not including possible reinforcements during the latest offensive, Waltz told the UN Security Council.
The Rwandan firepower has included surface-to-air missiles, drones, and artillery, he added.
Since taking up arms again in 2021, the M23 has seized swaths of territory, displacing tens of thousands and leading to a spiraling humanitarian crisis.
Earlier this month, UN experts said Rwanda’s army and the M23 had carried out summary executions and forced mass displacements of people in the region.
Waltz told the Security Council meeting that the US “is deeply concerned and increasingly disappointed” by this resurgence of violence.
The envoy denounced “the scale and sophistication” of Rwanda’s involvement in eastern DRC.
UN peacekeeping chief Jean-Pierre Lacroix warned the new offensive “has revived the specter of a regional conflagration with incalculable consequences.”
“Recent developments pose a serious risk of the progressive fragmentation of the Democratic Republic of Congo, particularly its eastern part,” he said.
Burundi on Friday accused Rwanda of bombing its territory, and its ambassador, Zephyrin Maniratanga, told the council it “reserves the right to use self-defense.”
He warned that if the attacks continue, it would be extremely difficult to avoid an escalation between the two African countries.
“Rwanda is not waging war against the Republic of Burundi and has no intention of doing that,” Ambassador Martin Ngoga said.
Meanwhile, Congolese Foreign Minister Therese Kayikwamba Wagner criticized the Security Council for its “lack of action” and called for sanctions against Rwanda.
Despite a resolution adopted in February demanding the withdrawal of Rwandan troops and a ceasefire, “the situation is undeniable: another city has fallen, a parallel administration has consolidated itself, thousands more families have fled, and others have been killed, raped, and terrorized,” she said.
