A militant group, the Niger Delta Rescue Movement (NDRM), on Thursday, 6 March, 2025 threatened to attack oil installations across the Niger Delta if federal allocation due to Rivers State are withheld from the state.
The group’s threat comes amid an escalating political crisis in the state, following a Supreme Court ruling on February 28 that upheld a lower court’s decision to halt Rivers’ federal allocation until a valid House of Assembly, led by Speaker Martin Amaewhule, is reconstituted.
In a video circulating on social media, armed NDRM members, numbering about eight and wielding AK-47 rifles, were seen in an undisclosed forest chanting Ijaw slogans such as “asawana, asawana.”
A spokesperson for the group read a statement condemning what they described as a “blatant attempt to destabilize” Rivers State under Governor Siminalayi Fubara. They accused the Amaewhule-led faction of lawmakers, allegedly backed by Federal Capital Territory Minister Nyesom Wike, of orchestrating chaos to justify a state of emergency or impeachment.
“We will not sit idly by while our state is dragged into tumult,” the spokesperson declared. “If the federal allocation is not released promptly, we will hit oil production hard. Rivers generates funds for the federation account, yet we are denied our share.”
The group also urged non-indigenes to leave Rivers for their safety, warning of potential escalation.
The NDRM’s threat has heightened tensions in the oil-rich region, which produces a significant portion of Nigeria’s crude oil.
The Federal Government has yet to respond officially, but analysts warn that any disruption could severely impact the nation’s economy, already strained by global oil dynamics.
Calls for dialogue have intensified, with stakeholders urging President Bola Tinubu to intervene and avert a return to the militancy that once plagued the Niger Delta.
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