After five days of intense aerial
operations by the Nigerian Air Force, the men of the Armed Forces and
other security operatives have smashed the defence of the bloodthirsty
vandals at Arepo to destroy their strongholds.
Investigation revealed that the Special
Boat Service of the Nigerian Navy led the ground assault against the
vandals by 3pm on Tuesday.
It was gathered that the SBS operatives
met little or no resistance as they fired their way into the heart of
the vandals’ empire where several innocent security men were killed and
buried.
The SBS is a special operations unit of
the Nigerian Navy comprising only male commandos whose roles include
“Reconnaissance and Surveillance, covert beach reconnaissance in advance
of an amphibious assault, recovery or protection of ships and oil
installations subject to hostile state or non-state action, Maritime
Counter-Terrorism and offensive Action.”
It was gathered that while the naval
commandos moved into the dreaded forest and destroyed the shanty
settlement and thousands of jerry cans and other tools used for
siphoning fuel, elements of the ongoing ‘Operation Awatse’ provided
tight security on the land area.
Investigation revealed that several
soldiers, policemen and the men of the Nigerian Security and Civil
Defence Corps were deployed in the area to prevent any surprise attack
by the armed vandals.
The Acting Director, Defence
Information, Brig. Gen. Rabe Abubakar, confirmed the commencement of
the ground action against the vandals.
He stressed that the operation was
designed to continue until the vandals were completely removed from the
nation’s pipeline at Arepo.
Abubakar said that some of the vandals
fled Arepo to Tongeji, an island off the coast of Badagary, where they
were said to have held a meeting.
He said that some of the hoodlums also fled to Snake Island, adding that efforts were ongoing to track them.
He said that the Defence authorities
were conducting surveillance in the area to prevent them from regrouping
to cause further havoc.
When asked to confirm if ground troops
had moved into Arepo, Abubakar said, “That operation is a continuous
one. Some of them fled to Tongeji Island where they had a meeting and
Snake Island, off the general area of Arepo.
“That is where they are moving to but we are able to block the general area of Arepo.
“We are mounting all round defence
surveillance to ensure that those who sneaked into the place are
arrested and denied free movement or regrouping.
“You know other security agencies are involved like the civil defence, the police and you know, it has been a joint one.
“So, each of the security agencies is
giving its own expertise and knowledge to ensure that those who might
have escaped are apprehended to deny them from regrouping and causing
unnecessary havoc again.”
Meanwhile, the Joint Task Force in the
Niger Delta, Operation Delta Safe, said on Tuesday that the security
outfit would not allow any form of declaration of republic in the
region.
The Commander, ODS, Rear Admiral Joseph
Okojie, stated this during a news conference at the headquarters of the
joint force in Igbogene, Bayelsa State, after meeting with component
commanders of the outfit.
Okojie spoke against the backdrop of
troops’ deployment in Boro Town, Kaiama, in Kolokuma-Opokuma Local
Government Area of the state over threats by militants to declare the
Niger Delta Republic.
Explaining the heavy presence of the
military, Okojie said, “The Federal Republic of Nigeria belongs to all
of us and the Armed Forces can be anywhere at any time. And we have
decided to show our presence in this general area because ODS covers the
whole of the Niger Delta maritime area.”
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