20/09/2024
TODAY IN HISTORY: FG Arrests Asari Dokubo, His Men Threaten To Unleash Mayhem
operanewsapp.comSep 20, 2024 9:17 AM
On September 20, 2005, Nigeria's Federal Government arrested Mujahid Asari-Dokubo, leader of the banned Niger Delta People’s Volunteer Force (NDPVF), on charges of treason. Asari, a key militant figure in the oil-rich Niger Delta, had declared "all-out war" against the Nigerian state in protest against environmental damage by oil companies, marginalisation of his people and government neglect.
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His group’s threats to attack oil facilities caused a significant reduction in production, dropping by 30,000 barrels per day, and raised petroleum prices. Then President Olusegun Obasanjo initiated peace talks with Asari-Dokubo and another militant leader, Ateke Tom, but the moves did not succeed. Asari-Dokubo's refusal to recognise Obasanjo's government and his calls for Ijaw self-determination led to his arrest.

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In response, his followers threatened massive attacks on oil infrastructure and to cause more havoc. They went ahead to declare 240 hours of rage to protest Asari-Dokubo's detention. However, the Nigerian government did not give in, rather it held Asari-Dokubo in detention until the next administration led by late President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua came on board, and later released him on June 14, 2007.
Other key events on this day
1. Su***de car bomb attacked U.S. Embassy annex in Beirut, killed 23 - 1984
2. Saddam Hussein demanded that U.S. networks broadcast his message - 1990
3. Coup occurred in Central African Republic: David Dacko overthrew Emperor Bokassa I - 1979
4. Billie Jean King triumphed in “Battle of the Sexes” - 1973
5. Gandhi began fast in protest of caste separation - 1932
6. Redcoats killed many Americans in Paoli Massacre - 1777
7. Winston Churchill argued for a 'United States of Europe' - 1946
8. Libya acquired a 50 percent interest in tw
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