Nigerian army on high alert

2008-09-26 18:16

Nick Tattersall

Port Harcourt - Nigeria's army is on high alert in the oil-producing Niger Delta, carrying out helicopter and gunboat patrols in its creeks despite a ceasefire declared by the region's main militant group.

Brigadier-General Sarkin-Yaki Bello, commander of the army, navy and airforce joint task force in southern Rivers state, said his men would not hesitate to strike militant camps if and when it was deemed necessary.

"If the opportunities, the circumstances call for it we will do that," he said in an interview.

"We are still operating at the same speed, pace that we have been doing...We have not declared war in the Niger Delta, this should be made clear. We are involved in what we call militant containment and control," he said.

The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (Mend) launched six straight days of attacks on oil facilities last week, cutting output in Africa's top producer in what it said was retaliation for unprovoked raids by the military.

Bello blamed Mend for triggering the unrest, saying his men had been shot at by militants during a patrol on September 13 and that they had responded by invading the militants' camp.

Mend declared a unilateral ceasefire on Sunday after what it said was an appeal by elders, but said it would resume its campaign of sabotage if it was attacked again.

"I have not signed any ceasefire. I am not bound by any ceasefire," Bello said in his headquarters in the main southern oil city of Port Harcourt.

"As far as I am concerned, our security level should be at its highest. In fact, our security level is more heightened now than any other time," he said, but added it was a welcome development if Mend stopped its "acts of brigandage".

Might of the government

Last week's attacks targeted oil flow stations, platforms, pipelines and gas plants and forced Royal Dutch Shell <RDSa.L>, the company worst hit, to warn it may not be able to meet all of its contractual obligations on oil shipments from Nigeria.

But Oil Minister Odein Ajumogobia told Reuters on Wednesday that the sabotage had had a limited impact because some of the facilities attacked were not fully operational anyway. He estimated Nigeria's output at around two million barrels per day.

Rotimi Amaechi, who took office as governor of Rivers state last year, has taken a tougher approach in dealing with the militants than his colleagues in Bayelsa and Delta, the other two main states in Nigeria's oil heartland.

Those two states have been much calmer in recent months, with diplomats saying their respective governors have favoured dialogue over a predominantly military approach.

"The number of troops on the ground has increased, but I cannot say how many they are. But definitely we have increased our troop level since 2007," Bello said of the military force in Rivers state.

- Reuters