The military has declared a war on militants in the Niger Delta over their reported renewed bombing of oil and gas pipelines in the region.
Indeed, the military authorities have already deployed a team of soldiers, naval officers and other security operatives to the creeks of the Niger Delta to fish out those responsible for the bombing of the critical oil and gas pipelines in the region.
Residents of some of the affected areas confirm that “there are gunboats everywhere”.
The Commander of Operation Pulo Shield, Maj.-Gen. Alani Gafar Okunlola, said:
“We are going to fish out those responsible... for this sabotage of our critical national assets”. For the fourth day running, the militants, who regrouped in some oil-producing states, especially in Delta State, have launched persistent attacks on pipelines belonging to the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and the Nigeria Gas Company (NGC).
Disturbed by the development, the Joint Task Force (JTF), codenamed Operation Pulo Shield, vowed to fish out the militants who blew up several oil and gas installations in the region on Friday night.
The AUTHORITY learnt that the militants bombed some oil installations both on Saturday and on Sunday with Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs).
Among the facilities blown up by the militants are the main crude line from Makaraba through Otunana and Abiteye to Escravos and the Olero to Escravos gas line.
The former was destroyed on Friday night while the latter was attacked in the early hours of Sunday.
Also yesterday, the militants blew up major crude oil and gas pipelines belonging to the Chevron Nigeria Limited (CNL) Tank Farm in Warri South West Local Government Area of the state.
The first attack occurred on Thursday when the militants reportedly bombed the Escravos-Warri-Abuja-Lagos pipelines. Some Itsekiri living in the affected area raised the alarm, warning that the situation, if not checked, could lead to another Ijaw-Itsekiri crisis.
The JTF warned that it would hold community leaders where oil and gas facilities are sabotaged responsible for such acts.....http://authorityngr.com/2016/01/Military-declares-war-on-N-Delta-militants/