N/Delta crisis: We have capacity to contain militants— Navy

Chief of Naval Staff (CNS), Vice Admiral IE Ibas, has said his officers and personnel have the capacity to contain the rampaging militants causing economic havoc in the Niger Delta region.

Rear Admiral Ibas, who was represented by the Chief of Training & Operations, Rear Admiral Adeniyi Osinowo, disclosed this while flagging off Exercise Eagle Eye in Warri, Delta State, on Friday.

He said with the flag off, harder days await economic saboteurs in the Niger Delta region.

The naval boss said as a result of the proliferation of different militant groups and their agitations as well as other criminal activities in the region, the Navy has arrived at a new operational concepts to tackle the emerging challenges in the waterways.

He added that his men will take seriously, sustained anti-piracy operation to safeguard the seafaring community and people attacking critical oil and gas facilities in line with the mandate of the force.

Flag Officer Commanding (FOC), Central Naval Command (CNC), Real Admiral Mohammed Garba, while addressing the combatants, disclosed that the exercise will be conducted within parts of the Eastern Naval Command (ENC) and the entire Central Naval Command (CNC).

According to Garba, who is directly in charge of the exercise, the areas of operations in the two commands cover 220 Nautical Miles, everything seaward up to 180 NM and a sea area of 39,600sqNM.

He noted that the Exercise Eagle Eye is intended to determine the strengths and weaknesses of extant standard of operations and Nigerian Navy logistics arrangements and proficiency gaps among officers and personnel in maritime operations.

The exercise, Rear Admiral Garba added, would restore investors’ confidence in the country’s maritime environment, demonstrate to the public efforts reached and challenges of contemporary Nigerian Navy operational equipment as well as create an enabling environment for sustenance of desired level of hydro carbon production, safety of shipping and new economic activities for national development.

Meanwhile, no fewer than 40 gunboats, scores of military helicopters, nine Capital Seas and eleven IPCS Town Class vessels have been deployed to commence the annual Exercise Eagle Eye on the waterways of the Niger Delta.

The exercise kicked off on Thursday and which is billed to last for five days, was predicated on the CNS’s strategic directive of achieving a secured maritime environment that’ll promote shipping activities, increase crude oil production and other economic activities.