Military and community sources in Bayelsa have described some media reports of militants’ attack on an oil pipeline in Koluama 1, Southern Ijaw Local Government Area of the state as “fake news.”
Some online media had reported that a militant group blew up a pipeline within Conoil’s oilfield near the Atlantic coastline in Koluama 1 settlement.
Maj. Ibrahim Abdullahi, Spokesman of the Joint Military Task Force (JTF) in the Niger Delta, condemned the reports in an interview on Sunday in Yenagoa.
Abdullahi described the reports as a hoax and the handiwork of mischief makers aimed at misinforming the public.
“After exhaustive verifications following enquiries from media practitioners, we found out that no such incident happened.
“We enjoin the media to crosscheck their facts before rushing to the press to avoid publishing falsehood such as this report,” Abdullahi said.
Also, James Dou, a resident of the area told NAN on phone that Koluama 1 had been peaceful since the New Year with the joint military task force frequently patrolling the waterways.
“I am in Koluama 1 as we speak and there is no report of any attack on Conoil or any oil facility nearby. I did not hear any explosion neither did I hear anyone discuss it,” Dou said.
Mr Mathew Sele-Epri, a community leader in Koluama 1 and Chairman, KEFFES Rural Development Board, said the report was false.
“There is no such incident. If it happened I should have known. I have made contact with my people back home and there is nothing like that; it is fake news,” the community leader said.
Over 200 Lost Shipping Containers Found Bottom Of North Sea
The Hague, Jan. 7, 2019 ( dpa /NAN) Most of the containers that were knocked from one of the World’s Largest Cargo ships have been located on the floor of the North Sea, Dutch Authorities said on Monday.
Using sonar technology, 220 of the 281 containers have been found, according to the Dutch Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management.
It said 18 containers washed ashore since they toppled into the water on Jan. 2 during stormy weather as the MSC Zoe navigated its way from Antwerp, Belgium, to Bremerhaven, Germany.
Around 40 containers are still missing.
Two of the lost containers hold dangerous materials.
One that broke open was transporting 250 sacks of toxic peroxide in powder form.
Some sacks had washed up on shore.
The other container with dangerous goods, which holds 1,400 kilograms of lithium batteries, is still unaccounted for.
The ministry said it does not present an acute risk for the environment.
Efforts to recover the containers could take months.
The Swiss shipping company MSC has agreed to take on all costs for the clean-up and salvage operations.
The incident saw huge amounts of packaging plastic and household items, including televisions, washed up on coastlines in the Netherlands and Germany.
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