Navy: We WILL flush militants out of Niger Delta

The Nigerian Navy has reiterated its resolve to deal with the resurgence of militancy in the Niger Delta.

Mohammed Garba, who on Wednesday assumed duty as the flag commanding officer of the Central Naval Command (CNC) in Yenagoa, Bayelsa state, said the navy have the capacity to “flush out” militant out of the region.

Garba said under his leadership, the CNC would pursue “a zero tolerance stance against oil theft, pipeline vandalism and illegal oil bunkering”.

“I wish to emphasise that there will be no hiding place for oil thieves as the command has intensified patrol of her area of responsibility with recent delivery of more platforms by the Nigerian Navy,” he said.

“With the recent resurgence of pockets of militant activities, I wish to specifically call on these groups of people to desist from criminal activities capable of entrenching security breach in the Niger Delta.

“They have no constituency; well meaning and law abiding Nigerians will not want to associate with the militants.

“I, therefore, urge these criminal gangs to revert to legitimate business or face the wrath of the law.”

Garba also appealed to the public to report suspicious activities to security agencies in order to curb criminalities in the Niger Delta.

He summoned a meeting with unit commanders of various components of the CNC, saying the meeting was to assess the current performance of the command.