Two oil pipelines belonging to the Nigeria Gas Company and Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) – both government-controlled parastatals – and the subsidiary of US multinational Chevron, were destroyed by militants this past week in the Delta State of Nigeria.

The pipelines had brought feedstock into the recently re-opened Warri and Kaduna refineries. Their destruction has forced the shut down of these facilities. The Nigerian Joint Task Force (JTC) said this action could undermine national security.

It all began nearly one week ago, a few hours after an Abuja High Court ordered the arrest of a Delta ex-militant group leader called Government Ekpemupolo alias Tompolo. He is wanted by the country’s anti-corruption watchdog, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), in a $300 million fraud case.

As Nigeria has been keen to reduce dependence on imported products of refined crude, the closure of these refineries is particularly harmful to the nation's prestige. The 125,000 barrels-per-day (bpd) Warri refinery had resumed production in November 2015, while the 110,000 bpd Kaduna refinery began operations in December.