NIGERIA; MEND REPEATS THREATS TO LAGOS FACILITIES

C O N F I D E N T I A L LAGOS 000317 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/24/2019 TAGS: PGOV PINS MOPS ENRG NI SUBJECT: NIGERIA; MEND REPEATS THREATS TO LAGOS FACILITIES REF: A. LAGOS 311 ¶B. LAGOS 300 Classified By: Consul General Donna Blair, Reasons 1.4 (B,D) ¶1. (SBU) On July 22, Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta spokesman "Jomo Gbomo" stated in an on-line interview that MEND would resume its campaign against oil facilities if the GON tried to repair damaged pipelines or failed to meet the groups demands. In the interview, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) was specifically named as a target, and the possibility of further attacks in Lagos was underscored. Only a week earlier, MEND had declared a 60-day cease-fire, claiming this would allow it time for militants to convey their "demands" to the Nigerian government, starting with withdrawal of the military Joint Task Force (JTF) and the initiation of massive economic development of the Niger Delta. NNPC may be taking the threats to its facilities in Lagos seriously; a TOTAL Downstream contact abruptly canceled a planned July 22 visit to the Lagos port Apapa fuel depot by Econoff, saying local NNPC depot officials were concerned about security and refused to allow the visit to proceed. ¶2. (C) Comment: The July 12 attack on Atlas Cove in Lagos demonstrated that one militant commander, probably Tompolo, is willing and able to attack targets outside of the Niger Delta (reftels). Although Tompolo is not considered a MEND-affiliated militant leader, we note that MEND took credit for the July 12 attack on Atlas Cove and announced details of the attack very shortly after it took place and before the news had hit the local newspapers or radio. This might suggest that if nothing else, Tompolo is happy to let MEND act as his de facto spokesman. End Comment. 3.(U) This cable was cleared by Embassy Abuja. BLAIR