| The Chief of Naval Staff (CNS) Vice Admiral Gainyu Adekeye has warned militants in the Niger Delta region to drop their weapons or face the wrath of the law. Adekeye said in Calabar last Tuesday while addressing officers and ratings of the Eastern Naval Command during the CNS Annual Inspection that the Navy was worried by the activities of militants in that region. He noted that there are three types of militants operating in the area. The first group he said could be referred to as professional militants who operate in the area with purpose of abducting people in order to make money. The second he said were people who feel aggrieved because of the deprivation in the area and exploit the situation to further their own interest while the third group were people who believe they were in a position to champion the cause of the people and work for the emancipation of the people. He advised the first two groups to drop their antics and abide by the laws of the land as failure to do so would attract he full weight of the laws of the country on them. The last group, he said, should embrace dialogue in their bid to redress whatever injustice they perceive. He commended officers and ratings of the Navy for their efforts in combing the excesses of militants in the area. �I must commend all of you for the increasing success that is being recorded in curbing the excesses of criminal elements in the region�, he said. He encouraged his men to maintain the highest standard of discipline in order to sustain the momentum already achieved. �We must eschew corruption and resist temptation to collude with these criminal elements or their surrogates under whatever guise�, he counseled, attributing the successes recorded to not only exemplary courage and tactical ingenuity, but also to probity and dedication to duty. �We must do all that is within our means to assist the Independent National Electoral Commission to ensure successful conduct of the elections�, he said. He assumed the men of his determination to revive and revitalize all cherished naval traditions, procedures and valves which, according to him �had been deeply and commitment on the part of all of us or negligence of the leadership at all level. He noted that the Chief of the Naval Staff Annual Inspection was last held in 1998 and expressed regret that the negligence had denied the Naval High Command opportunity to access first hand the state of the Service including combat readiness, logistics, preparedness, record keeping, discipline and welfare. |
Nov302006