Twitter takes down Niger Delta Avengers’ account

Micro-blogging website, Twitter, on Monday suspended an account belonging to a group of oil pipelines saboteurs, Niger Delta Avengers.
The suspension came a day after the group said it successfully launched five attacks on oil installations within two days.
Notorious for its indiscriminate destruction of oil and gas installations owned by major oil corporations across the delta states, the Avengers had since inception used Twitter to announce attacks.
The group first used Twitter to claim responsibility for the bombing of Bonny Soku gas export line in Gbarain, Bayelsa State, in February 2016.
Since then, it had claimed responsibility for more than 24 attacks as at July 2.
While announcing attacks, it also demanded a better living condition for the people of the oil-rich region. At some point, the group demanded a sovereign state for the Niger Delta.
Shell, Chevron, Eni, NNPC and other oil companies operating in the region had their facilities attacked in recent months.
In June, Shell said it would keep the Forcados Export Terminal shut until activities returned to normal. Other companies also evacuated their staff.
The Avengers said its activities had seen Nigeria’s oil exports cut by more than half, to about 800,000 barrels per day – vowing to bring it to “zero” in the coming months.
The Nigerian government said it was willing to negotiate with leaders of the group, but its spokesman, Mudoch Agbinibo, announced in June that only a dialogue supervised by foreign countries and corporations would make it engage the government.
Avengers’ followers on Twitter soared from less than 1,000 in April to over 30,000 followers as at July 2.
The Avengers’ website, was, however, still running as at 2:44 p.m. on July 4.
Twitter did not immediately respond to PREMIUM TIMES’ enquiry seeking further clarification about the decision to deactivate NDA’s account.

Premium Times.Twitter takes down Niger Delta Avengers’ accountTwitter takes down Niger Delta Avengers’ account

Comments

The story of how Nigeria’s census figures became weaponized - Feyi Fawehinmi

By Feyi Fawehinmi The story of Nigeria’s 1962 census never gets old. Southern politicians seeking to end the north’s dominance of Nigerian politics decided that the only way to do it was through the census. Population figures at the time determined not only parliamentary representation but also revenue allocation and employee distribution in the civil service. In May 1962, the first census under an independent Nigerian government began. There had been a frenzy of mobilization by politicians in the south of the country using pamphlets, radio, schools, churches and mosques. Although the final results were not made public, the preliminary results were quite clear as to what had happened: the north’s population had gone up from 16.5 million in the last census in 1952 to 22.5 million, an increase of 30%. But in some parts of the east, the population had increased by up to 200% and more than 70% in general. The west also reported an increase of 70%. What the preliminary results showed...

FG borrows N3.38bn To Aid Potato Production in Plateau

The Federal Executive Council (FEC) wednesday approved N3.38 billion to boost the production of potatoes in Plateau State. The Minister of Finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun, who made the disclosure said the money would be borrowed from Agricultural Development Bank (ADB) with one per cent interest rate and 25 years moratorium. The minister who said the loan was not fresh, explained that it had previously been cancelled by the federal government with the intention to make a fresh request for the loan on behalf of Plateau State which she said was responsible for 95 per cent of potato production in the country. According to her, following ADB’s comprehensive programme on potato production in Plateau State, 100,000 families and 17 local government areas of Plateau State would benefit from the loan while 60,000 jobs would be created by the initiative. “My approval was on behalf of Plateau State to support the potato value chain. There is a loan that we had previously cancelled from ...

Buhari's Economic Blueprint Does Not Address Nigerians' Need - Bill Gates

Sahara Reporters The present economic templates being used by the Muhammadu Buhari government do not have the ability to address the unique needs of Nigerians at present, American business magnate, Bill Gates, has said. The philanthropist and founder of Microsoft corporation however said Nigeria has the ability to approach ‘upper middle-income status’ like Brazil, China and Mexico, but added that achieving this status depends on ”the choice Nigerian leaders make”. Mr. Gates, at the special and expanded National Economic Council, held in Abuja on Thursday tasked Nigerian leaders to sincerely invest in not just infrastructural development but also human investment. The theme of the meeting was “Role of human capital investment in supporting pro-poor and economic growth agenda”. The investor said though Nigeria is rapidly approaching upper- middle income status, the country has ”unmatched economic potential and what becomes of that potential depends on the choice Nigerian ...

ATTENCAO

Search This Blog