NG News: Militants Kill 13 Soldiers
This Day (Lagos)
March 9, 2006
Posted to the web March 10, 2006
Segun James, Yinka Kolawole And Eugene Agha
Warri/Offa
The Nigerian Armed forces yesterday recorded heavy casualties in two separate battles with Ijaw militias along the waterway of Warri, Delta State with 13 soldiers feared dead.
This comes as the Chief of Naval Staff (CNS), Vice Admiral Ganiyu Adekeye, yesterday advised the Federal Government to adopt a proactical political measure to the current crisis threatening to tear down the Niger Delta region.
Defence Headquarters, however, confirmed the death of four of its personnel in yesterday's renewed hostilities with militants in the region.
Speaking with THISDAY in Abuja, Acting Director of Defence Information, Group Captain Eniola. O. Akinduro, said, "Four soldiers were killed and an unspecified number of militants were equally killed in the exchange of firearms in the Niger Delta yesterday."
Akinduro, who could not disclose the actual cause of yesterday's shoot out, however, assured Nigerians that, "investigations is currently being carried out to determine the possible cause of the shooting."
He denied claims that the military was re-enforcing troops in the region, stating that, "Movement of military troops from one end of the area to the other are often construed to mean military re-enforcement. But I can tell you that there is no military re-enforcement in the area now."
Wednesday's incident took place in an area known as a militant stronghold and near where it is suspected the three remaining foreign hostages are being held.
In a statement, the Mov-ement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (Mend) said their forces were out patrolling the rivers and creeks when they were attacked in the Escravos River by a total of seven navy patrol boats near the village of Okerenkoko in the western Niger Delta.
The militants, who were armed with rifles, machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades, said the gun battle lasted for 45 minutes. They claim to have killed 13 Nigerian soldiers in the confrontation and say none of their fighters were lost.
However, a military spokesman and Ijaw leader says the militants attacked a petrol tanker because they needed fuel. The vessel, which had a military escort, then sent out a distress signal and military reinforcements were despatched.
THISDAY gathered that some selected men of the Nigerian Army under the command of American anti-terrorist commandos attempted to rescue the three remaining expatriate hostages at Okerenkoko but met with heavy resistance.
The Army commandos were said to have been dropped at Okerenkoko by military helicopters.
Soon after this operation, a vessel MT Espirit said to belong to the nation's leading dredging company, Nigerian Westm-inster Dredging Limited laden with 15,155 tonnes of Premium Motor Spirit (Petrol) and heading for the Forcados Terminal was ambushed by the militias at a point near Okerenkoko.
The militias operating in two speed boats killed the four soldiers and one mobile police man on escort duties aboard the vessel before allowing it to proceed on its course.
THISDAY gathered from sources close to the militants that they suspected that the vessel was in the area as part of the commando operation hence the attack on it.
The source said they are battle ready to combat the Nigerian Armed Forces as the attack on Okerenkoko early Thursday is a proof the Federal Government is not ready to honour the pledge not to attack Ijaw communities after the release of the hostages.
The failure of the commando attack on Okerenkoko saw top United States and British diplomats scouring back to the Government House Annex in Warri yesterday to see Governor James Ibori following the latest situation in the creeks
All efforts to confirm the new situation from the military met with sealed lips even as tension enveloped the oil city yesterday.
Meanwhile, Vice Admiral Ganiyu Adekeye yesterday advised the Federal Government to adopt a proactive political measure to the current crisis threatening to tear down the Niger Delta Region.
According to Adekeye, only by so doing will the government hope to achieve the much sought after peace which had eluded the area for quite some time now.
The CNS who made the suggestion in Offa, Kwara State at the just concluded Chief of the Naval Staff Conference (CONSAC) held at the ancient city. stated that rather than constantly engaging the militants in war, the Federal Government should seek for ways to make them see reasons why they should drop their arms and ammunition and embrace peace.
"I do not believe a military solution is the panacea to the lingering Niger Delta problem. In actual fact, political and some other solutions should be adopted in tackling the problems, while a military action should be a final resort," said the Naval Chief.
Although Adekeye agreed that the Niger Delta crisis is a problem for the entire nation and not the Navy alone, he said that every Nigerian should be involved in bringing the problems to an end.
"The strategies for solving Niger Delta problems is not navy, it is national but we have put forward our own operational aspect of it on what is needed. We do not need a military solution to end the crisis, we needed political solution more that the military solution and this military solution will always come as a last option.
"Like I said earlier, it is a national problem, if it is not a big problem it will not be a national problem and we would have allowed Delta State to handle it." he added.
While insisting that the navy was on top of the situation, he added that even though the crisis has degenerated, the Nigerian Navy remains active in the protection of oil facilities and installations around the area.
Adekeye who was reacting to a question that the multi-billion naira Bonga oilfield could come under militants threat, said that the Bonga project is solidly being guarded by the officers and men of the Nigerian Navy, thereby warding off any threat to the project.
"The Nigerian Navy is present at the Bonga project, indeed, as I speak, I have a war ship patrolling the area," he noted.
He revealed that within a short while, two of its combat vessels currently being repaired by the force at the navy dockyard, Lagos, would be put to use, as they are in the final stages of their repair works.
He commended the Navy for the initiative to restate the Chief of Naval Staff Annual Conference, insisting that conference is significant in concept and in deeds as it provides useful information for the force to be able to project for the future.
the theme of the conference, which was Re-engineering the Nigerian Navy for the 21st century, according to the naval chief is apt, especially when the system and equipment of the navy world wide is changing.
"Gone are the day when you starts thinking of total war at sea, the problems we are having now is the problems of asymmetric warfare and we need to reflect on that and plan our own strategies to be able to plan our own strategies to be able to cope with them," he added.
In his own comment, erstwhile Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Rear Admiral Jubril Ayinla (rtd), also counselled the Federal Government to engage the people of the area proactively. He gave this advice in a chat with newsmen shortly after the closing ceremony of the 13th edition of CONSAC, saying more quota should be given to the people in that area in Navy.
His words: "The only solution to the problem in the Niger Delta is to engage the leaders, the youths and everybody in the area proactively, we should make sure that the youths in the area are employed.
"Since they have a maritime culture and riverine outlook, we should give more quota to them in the Navy ."
The solution to the problem, he suggested, is not a show of power or that of the military, I think it's a political crisis, so we need to look at it dispassionately.
The former Naval boss however blamed the Federal Government for allowing the emerging crisis in the area saying, "once you give somebody reason to arms and suicidal measure to achieve his aims, then you have failed in your national and economic policies."
According to him, the constitutional role of the Nigeria Navy is not to police the riverine areas to avoid hostage taking. The role, he added, "is for the maritime defence of Nigeria to be intact because many of us confuse the Navy with other agencies.
The Navy's work is actually at the high sea, not in the creeks, not even in the harbours. Those places are meant to be policed by the maritime police and the amphibious brigade of the Nigeria Army."
He however added, "that is not to say that the Navy does not have the secondary roles to assist other security agencies."
