Not so Happy Xmas Shell

MEND – the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta – released a statement yesterday that said all “genuine” militant groups should come together and cripple the Nigerian oil industry “once and for all.”

Nigerian officials have not commented on the statement, which was e-mailed to journalists. MEND and other groups in the Niger Delta are demanding the government direct more oil revenue to the region’s largely impoverished residents.

MEND declared a cease-fire after a new government took office in May promising to address the militants’ demands. But the group resumed its attacks after its leader, Henry Okah, was arrested in Angola in September on gun-running charges. But things seem to be hotting up again.