The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) declared the ceasefire in July, shortly after it launched a rare attack on a massive fuel depot in the economic capital city of Lagos - the first time the group had carried out such attack outside the oil producing Niger Delta region.
The ceasefire largely coincided with the 60-day amnesty declared for repentant oil militants by the federal government.
Ahead of the ceasefire's expiration, MEND issued a statement saying it would resume the attacks that have debilitated the oil industry and cut Nigeria's production, because it claimed the government had been displaying the arms it procured as those surrendered by repentant militants.
''In the midst of such sheer deceit, MEND will be compelled to resume with ferocious attacks on the oil industry at the end of our ceasefire on September 15, 2009 to prove that weapons being displayed are mostly government-owned and those surrendering them have not been part of the previous campaigns like Hurricanes Barbarossa, Piper Alpha and Moses that brought the government to their knees,'' it said.
The government denied the accusation and has appealed to MEND not to resume the attacks, especially as the country's oil production has jumped from 1.2 million barrels per day to 1.7 million barrels per day since the ceasefire and the amnesty took off.
But there are also indications that the government may take a hard stance against the militants if they resume attacks on the oil facilities.
On Tuesday, a local newspaper published a report saying Abuja has ''deployed its arsenal of intelligence planes, warships, and helicopter gunships bought from Israel, Malaysia, Singapore, Holland and Russia to match attacks'' by MEND.
But MEND spokesman Jomo Gbomo said in an online interview, published Tuesday, that many people, including MEND leader Henry Okah - who has taken advantage of the amnesty - has appealed to the group not to carry out its threat.
'Henry Okah is among those who have asked us to extend the ceasefire and we are considering all the options we have...Nothing is certain until the expiration of the ceasefire. Anything is possible,' he said.
MEND has shunned the amnesty, due to run out 4 Oct., saying it does not address the root causes of the violence in the oil region.
Lagos - 15/09/2009
Pana
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