Nigeria Fuels Panic In Ghana, Says MEND

Nigeria Fuels Panic In Ghana, Says MEND

A potentially dangerous diplomatic row between Ghana and Nigeria is brewing. This follows an allegation by the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND),an insurgent network that Nigeria was fuelling panic in Ghana.

Spokesperson for MEND, Jomo Gbomo, in an on-line statement to AkanimoReports on Saturday said the insurgent group strongly condemns what they described as ''deliberate misinformation'' of the government of Ghana and its people by the Nigerian High commissioner to Ghana at the behest of the Nigerian government.

According to MEND, ''the Nigerian High commission in Ghana has been mandated by the government of Nigeria to spread panic in Ghana with the hope that this will erode the understanding the people of Ghana have for the legitimate fight of the people of the Niger Delta against decades of oppression by the Nigerian state and western oil companies''.

Continuing, they querried, ''why Ghana?'', adding, ''Ghana is recognized as one of the few countries in West Africa where the rule of law is upheld A democratic nation capable of resisting the bullying of the Nigerian government, very unlike dictatorships such as Angola''.

''Nigerians escaping persecution from the ever lawless governments in Nigeria'', they went on, ''have very often sought refuge in Ghana to the chagrin of the Nigerian government.

''In order to make the Ghanaian government malleable to its future demands for extradition, the government of Nigeria recently decided to spread fear in the Ghanaian oil industry and brand any one who seeks refuge in Ghana in the future, a member of MEND seeking to target the Ghanaian oil industry. This same tactic was employed by the Nigerian government in 2009 when it dubiously alerted Western embassies in Lagos, Nigeria of alleged plans by the militants to attack western embassies. This dubious alert was then dismissed by all western embassies''.

According to Gbomo, ''MEND is fighting against a glaring injustice. The land of the Niger Delta alone has been confiscated by the government from its owners and distributed to western oil companies and a few Nigerians from outside our region. We have been declared landless by the Nigerian government , yet without benefit'.

They are claiming that the government of Nigeria has been unable to cover-up this crime against humanity which has been exposed by every individual and organization that has visited the Niger Delta.

''The people of the Niger Delta are peace loving people who simply cannot understand why a government which has confined us to slavery having stolen our lands, should expect peace. Dating to times before the independence of Ghana, the people of the Niger delta, especially the Ijaws have co-existed with Ghanaians in Ghana'', MEND said.

Adding, they said, ''Ghana is of no strategic importance in our fight against the Nigerian military. We respect the sovereignty of all nations bordering the Niger Delta and limit our operations to oil related facilities in Nigeria.

The government and People of Ghana should therefore discountenance the un-intelligent and baseless claim of the Nigerian High commissioner, Musiliu Obanikoro intended to whip xenophobic sentiments against the Ijaws and other indigenous tribes of the Niger Delta legitimately visiting or residing in Ghana''.

ENDS

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