Ijaw youths pledge to fight oil firms

Militant Ijaw youths in Nigeria said yesterday they would continue to shut down oil facilities in the Niger Delta until steps are taken to give them a greater share of the area’s oil wealth and the environment is cleaned up.

In a statement, the Ijaw Youths Council (IYC), representing militant elements of the Ijaw community, called for the “immediate and unconditional withdrawal” of troops sent to protect oil installations in the Delta. They termed the presence of the military “provocative, oppressive and totally unacceptable”. The Council also urged their elders to reject talks proposed by the government on settling the crisis in the Delta, saying they were a “public relations ploys by the dictatorship”.