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One of the ex-militant leaders in the Niger Delta, Dr. Ebikabowei Victor Ben, alias 'General Boyloaf', has said that oil theft in the Niger Delta will not stop until the Federal Government takes appropriate steps to compensate the natives of the region.
Boyloaf, who is one of the Niger Delta ex-agitators, who brokered the amnesty deal with the late President Umaru YarÁdua, said in Abuja that oil theft had soared in the region because the owners of the land where the oil facilities crisscross did not feel any sense of belonging after many decade of oil production.
Boyloaf also said that those who are making use of crude oil found in their back yards should not be referred to as 'oil thieves' as they were only making use of their God-given resources.
"I hate to hear the word 'oil thieves or oil theft' because the people you want to label as thieves are simply trying to make use of their God-given resources. In other words what they are doing is the legitimate 'resource control' that we have been talking about.
"The truth of the matter is that the Niger Delta people are simply controlling their resources and not stealing any oil," Boyloaf said.
Boyloaf said the ongoing problem in the Niger...