Prospects
of a confrontation between Niger Delta militants and the military heightened
yesterday as the Nigerian Army announced that its Special Forces had started
exercises in preparation for combat in the restive oil rich region.
The
Army in a statement by its Director of Public Relations (DAPR), Col. Sani
Usman, said it had started conducting exercises for its Special Forces on
maritime warfare. “The Nigerian Army will from this weekend commence another
training exercise code named ‘Exercise Crocodile Smile’ in 82 Division and part
of 2 Division areas of responsibility traversing the South-south geo-political
region,” he said.
But
Bayelsa State Governor Seriake Dickson wednesday met with President Muhammadu
Buhari in Abuja and said force was not the solution to the problem that had
massively constrained the country’s crude oil production output.
The
Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lt-Gen. Tukur Buratai, had warned last week that if
the militants failed to accept the federal government’s offer of dialogue over
their grievances, the military would have to step in to protect the nation’s
oil and gas assets that had been the target of a militant group, Niger Delta
Avengers’ (NDA) consistent acts of sabotage.
The
federal government’s strategy for dialogue would appear to be experiencing some
hiccups as the main militant group, the Avengers, has consistently expressed
reservations about the sincerity of the process even as some other stakeholders
query the government’s option of using proxy for the proposed talks.
Obviously
not wanting to be caught unawares, the Nigerian Army has started preparing for
a possible confrontation with the militants, conducting exercises for its
Special Forces on maritime warfare.
Usman
wednesday said: “The aim of the exercise is to practise our Special Forces and
other units of the Nigerian Army in Amphibious and Internal Security Operations
in riverine environment and also check criminal activities like kidnapping,
militancy and piracy and other forms of criminal activities in support of the
civil authority.”
He
urged members of the public “not to panic on the sight of unusual movement of
large number of troops, heavy military weapons and equipment in these areas”.
As
part of the military’s preparation, its Joint Task Force in the Niger Delta,
Operation Delta Safe, also warned the militants not take it for granted, saying
it had the capacity to crush them.
Rear Admiral Joseph Okojie, the new Commander of the outfit covering Delta,
Rivers, Bayelsa, parts of Ondo and Akwa Ibom States, described the crisis in
the region as a fifth generation security threat, but stressed that Nigerians
would soon begin to see the results from the efforts by the forces to tackle
the violent agitators.
Okojie,
who spoke with journalists in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, where the JTF, ODS is
headquartered, assured Nigerians that the military had total control of the
security infrastructure in the country, but added that the military remained
subservient to the political leadership of the country.
He
noted that the federal government, the minister of defence, the chief of
defence staff and all the service chiefs were fully involved in the current
operations to rout all criminalities in the oil-rich region.
“The
ODS will not shirk its responsibility of securing the Niger Delta. We will
ensure that there is sanctity of our territorial integrity, but we have to make
sure that collateral damage is minimised.
“We
are on top of the security manifestations and at the appropriate time, if
necessary, action will be taken to ensure there is peace.
“If
there is need to up the tempo, we will do it, but for now (our operations) are
driven by the political imperatives of our leaders. The political leadership
has come out with clear instructions while we also carry out our core duty,” he
said.
Flanked
by his lieutenants in charge of land operations, maritime and civil military
operations, Okojie explained that in the last few weeks, his men had
successfully foiled cases of pipeline vandalism, kidnapping, illegal oil
refining, piracy and other criminalities in the region.
“These are complex operations, but we are trained for that and very soon everyone will begin to see the results,” he said.
“These are complex operations, but we are trained for that and very soon everyone will begin to see the results,” he said.
He added: “We are quite capable of enforcing our mandate. This is a fifth generation warfare. Not everyone there is a criminal. It is complex and you must consider innocent people. Every situation demands its own solution. We wouldn’t want to hear complaints that people are being killed.”
He urged the media to be objective and professional in reporting the security
challenges in the region, saying that the military would continue to keep its
mandate of providing a safe environment for economic prosperity.
According
to Okojie, “We have seen reports emanating from faceless sources that tend to
compromise national security in the mainstream media and want to restate our
commitment to the mandate given to Operation Delta Safe.
“Our
mandate does not include engagement in propaganda with any interest and wish to
restate that the territorial integrity of our country is sacrosanct.
“We implore the media to rise to the occasion and subject their security related stories to the dictates of their professional ethics.”
“We implore the media to rise to the occasion and subject their security related stories to the dictates of their professional ethics.”
But
Dickson told State House correspondents in Abuja wednesday that he discussed
the looming violent confrontation between the militants and the military with
Buhari and expressed the view that there was no alternative to dialogue in the
conflict.
“I
have said that the issues in the Niger Delta, the terrain, the historic nature
of the issues and challenges are such that military solution may not be the way
forward,” he said without giving details of his discussions with the president.
According
to him, “For us who are products of political system, who are at this level, we
have a duty to mobilise communal and local leadership, we have a duty to support
the work that the intelligence and security agencies are doing; we have a duty
to ensure that issues are better appreciated and that we fill the communication
gap. And where there are issues, those issues need be addressed. And it is also
our duty to network like I’m doing to ensure that problems that are identified
as the root cause of some of these challenges are looked into.
“The
military solution as I have always maintained is not the right option, we are
hopeful that the ongoing discussions will yield the desired result. I have
always been in support of negotiations, of dialogue as the sustainable way
forward. Dialogue will bring out the issues and then we will all unite around
these common issues to move our country forward.”
Dickson,
however, thanked Buhari for not interfering in the state election which he won
on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), and extended an olive
branch to his opponents in the election, asking them to bury the hatchet by
joining hands with him to build the Bayelsa of their dream.
He
said: “I came in this afternoon to have discussions with Mr. President. That is
because my position has been and I believe that is the right position every
political leader should take which is that after general election political leaders
and citizens must unite and address common issues and find solutions to the
problems of our country.
“All
over the world, once nations have crisis, once nations come under attack,
leaders unite across political lines and come together.
“I
came in to have discussion with Mr. President and I thank him for that
opportunity and we cross fertilised ideas around issues of security. Of course
as you know Bayelsa is central to the maintenance of law and order and
stability in our country particularly in the Niger Delta region.
“Bayelsa
is the epicentre of the issues that have to do with the Niger Delta. We had
fruitful discussions on the need for political leaders, governmental and
political leaders to work together to support the work of the security agencies
and foster better understanding of even people who have grievances and that we
are committed to do together.”
The
governor expressed joy that the state Election Petitions Tribunal sitting in
Abuja yesterday upheld his election, saying the judgment was an affirmation
that his emergence as a true product of the democratic exercise of rights of
the people of Bayelsa State in the 5 December and 9 January, 2016 elections.
He
said: “Again, I want to use this opportunity to appreciate Mr. President for
his non-interference contrary to the propaganda and the name dropping that some
politicians back home and even in Abuja embarked upon. There is no name they
didn’t call, there is no claim that they didn’t make but I’m telling Nigerians,
I’m telling Bayelsans to disregard all that propaganda, the president never had
anything to do by way of negatively influencing the last general election in
Bayelsa and also the outcome of the tribunal proceedings.
That is important
because if our nation must move forward, if our democracy must be strengthened,
if our nation must be stable, then institutions must be allowed to grow.
“I
want to use this opportunity to call on my opponent, brother and friend and
fellow citizen of Bayelsa and all others to join hands with us so that we can
render service to our people and build a stronger and more stable and
prosperous Bayelsa.”
On
the crisis rocking the PDP, Dickson said the nation needed a political party in
opposition that is strong and well organised.
He
said that the party was working very hard to ensure that some of the issues and
disputes in the party were resolved.
He
said that the party’s convention would produce a virile, credible opposition
party that would work for democracy and the Nigerian nation.
According
to him, “We need opposition that plays by the rule; that knows that there comes
a time when people across divides must unite for the sake of our country. You
expect to see those types of issues and disputes in any political party and we
are working hard to address them.” Read More at This Day
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| Nigerian Special Forces |
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| Nigerian Special Forces |
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| Nigerian Special forces undergoing maritime warfare training |
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| Nigerian Air Force Spetcat Jaguar |
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