Nigerian militants reject goverment proposal that the secure oil infrastructure

LAGOS, Nigeria: The defense minister has proposed hiring militants known for attacking Nigeria’s oil infrastructure to protect the pipelines instead, local media reported on Wednesday.

But the most potent armed group in the country’s oil region dismissed the idea as “laughable.”


Newspapers quoted Minister of Defense Yayale Ahmed as telling lawmakers Tuesday that, if the militants formed themselves into “limited liability companies,” the government could hire them as security personnel in an attempt at constructive engagement.

But the region’s most effective militant group, the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta, or MEND, said the proposal would undermine the government’s case against one of their purported leaders, Henry Okah, who is accused of terrorism for arming the militants.

AP