THE Federal Government plans to meet with members of the foreign diplomatic community in the country to brief them on the amnesty granted to militants in the Niger Delta.
It is also planning to buy four new Puma helicopters from France to shore up the defence of the country’s maritime interests and the policing of the Gulf of Guinea.
Minister of Defence, Maj. Gen. Godwin Abbe (rtd), who is also the chairman of the Federal Government Committee on Amnesty, Disarmament, Reintegration and Demobilisation, implored the international community to help in stopping their nationals from participating in smuggling crude oil in the Niger Delta, saying that if no solution was found on the issue, Nigeria would have no other option than “to attack the ocean liners which are within our territorial waters illegally.”
Also yesterday, Pakistan offered to assist Nigeria in building a veritable defence sector through the sharing and transfer of military technology and partnership between Pakistani Defence Industries and the Defence Industries Corporation of Nigeria (DICON).
The French government has also said it was ready to assist Nigeria to combat oil theft in the nation’s territorial waters if it had credible information on the location and identities of the smugglers.
Abbe, who spoke when the French Ambassador to Nigeria, Mr. Jean-Michell Dumond, visited him in his office, also said that Nigeria would not now jump into accepting every offer of assistance from foreign countries.
According to the minister, “talks are on to acquire four Puma helicopters. We are hoping that very soon, they will be delivered to us. We are also looking into their maintenance. As soon as the staff details are sorted out, we want the helicopters to arrive as soon as possible.”
Speaking on the amnesty offer to militants in the Niger Delta, he said: “Very soon, we will be meeting with the diplomatic community on the extent we have gone on its implementation. It is the intention of the President that we live in a peaceful atmosphere in order to accelerate our development. In the past, mistakes were made. But you don’t correct a mistake through criminalities. So, all those carrying out illegalities are to lay down their arms, submit them to the government and be integrated into the larger society. But the integration is not an overnight matter.”
Abbe added that what Nigeria was asking from the international community was “for them to understand the difficulties confronting the government. They have to understand that we are ready to make peace, to ensure law and order, the rule of law and good governance.
“But we found that those smuggling oil are doing it with the cooperation of foreigners. The foreigners are the ones who bring in big ocean liners used in the smuggling (of oil). If you use your good offices, you could bring it to the attention of your government and other European leaders when they meet. They can place a ban on the purchase of stolen oil. If they are banned, we can control the proliferation of arms and ammunition in the Niger Delta. Very soon, we are going to attack the ocean liners who are within our territorial waters illegally. Our position is for us to accept whatever we can get to ensure there is peace in the Gulf of Guinea because of its strategic importance in the world economy. We love peace. We love our continent Africa and we love that our neighbours, who are all Francophone, deserve peace. And we have been trying to do our best to keep them in our hearts. We won’t solve any disagreement with them through violence. Any such disagreement will be settled through dialogue.”
Abbe noted that though Nigeria was interested in receiving assistance from other nations, “it is not every offer from every country that we will accept. But we will like to revisit all the offers and re-prioritize. We are going to order the steps, do the things we want to do and do them well and make a success of it. We will be looking at issues of maritime security.”
Dumond, in his response stated: “This is the right time to strengthen our links and relationships and build the strongest military cooperation between Nigeria and France. We have a need to strengthen the cooperation in the area of defence and maritime security in the Gulf of Guinea especially in training, exchange of information and building capabilities including fighting in mangrove areas. We are ready to develop the relationship. We have a common interest in the maintenance of peace and security not only in Africa but also in the world. We are ready to work with you in the spirit of the strategic partnership between both nations.”
The French Ambassador said France believed that “there are economic potentialities for the development of the Niger Delta. We hope that the amnesty will bring peace and security to the Niger Delta. The peace and security in the area is important for us and for the security of the Gulf of Guinea area. ”
The ambassador offered to supply to Nigeria the Puma helicopters, armoured vehicles and Naval platforms. In addition, he disclosed the allocation of 25 training slots for officers of the Nigerian military but regretted that they were not being fully utilised.
Towards the implementation of the partnership, the Nigerian Navy has set up a technical committee to work out the details.
Dumond noted: “As soon as the conclusion is released, we will send a mission to Nigeria to look at the complete possibilities in the areas of training and building capabilities. The security envisaged in the Gulf of Guinea is to develop a new chain of agreement with our Francophone friends to develop our assistance to the sub-regional organisation. We are working to assist ECOWAS and Africans to deal with their own matters. They have to solve their problems. Concerning the Gulf of Guinea, we are looking at what can be done in order for all countries in the region to secure the area.”
He added that his country was working in collaboration with Britain to jointly assist in the development of the Gulf of Guinea. The French effort is based in Equatorial Guinea while Lagos is hosting the British side.
The ambassador stated: “We need accurate information on the ocean liners that are into smuggling. We are ready to work with the information on the foreign collaborators in order to stop the smuggling from continuing to go on.”
Defence Adviser of the Pakistani High Commission in Nigeria, Col. Abdi Hussain, told Abbe in his office that “we (Pakistan) will like the (military) relationship to be extended and strengthened both in size and quality, with focus on military technology.”
Hussein noted that the bilateral relations between the two countries, which commenced as early as 1960, had witnessed an improvement in the last three years.