The Joint Task Force in the Niger Delta, Operation Restore Hope, has launched a fresh offensive against the militants in the region ahead of the Christmas and New Year celebrations.
Findings by Sunday Punch indicate that the Commander of the outfit, Brig.-Gen. Wuyep Rimtip, is personally leading the operation.
The initiative was meant to keep the militants at bay and guarantee crime-free yuletide season in the region, particularly in Bayelsa and Delta States.
Rimtip led the federal troops to comb the creeks and identified the operational bases of the militants in the Niger Delta on Thursday and Friday.
The operation, referred to in military parlance as ”show of force”, also took the team to the oilfields, especially some strategic oil installations belonging to the oil majors, including Chevron Nigeria Limited and Shell Petroleum Development Company, in the region.
A source at 93 Battalion, Effurun, Delta State, the headquarters of JTF, said the operation was also conceived to reinforce the confidence of the oil workers to operate without fears of molestation or intimidation during the yuletide period.
The trip also afforded Rimtip the opportunity to interact with the law-abiding citizens in the oil bearing communities and his troops serving in the creeks and oil industry in the Niger Delta.
Investigation revealed that the fearless artillery officer, who has become the albatross of the illegal oil bunkerers and other criminals in the region, was accompanied on the mission by many gunboats and patrol crafts manned by heavily kitted personnel.
Sunday Punch further learnt that the patrol team was made up of the personnel of the Nigerian Army, Nigerian Navy, Air Force, Nigerian Police and State Security Service.
The JTF source, said, ”Our Commander (Rimtip) led the troops to the creeks and the oilfields operated by the oil multinationals in the Niger Delta on Thursday.”
The operation was aimed at warning the militants that they cannot afford to perpetrate fresh criminal acts in the region, especially in the oil industry at this time of the year when everybody is in a festive mood.
”The commander met with the people of the local communities and the troops at various locations. He asked the troops to be on the alert at all times and prevent fresh attacks on oil facilities under their watch.
“The operation was quite intimidating, reminiscent of the military show of force, which serves as a warning signal to the criminals that the JTF was ready for them.”
Rimtip confirmed the operation in a telephone interview with our correspondent on Saturday, adding that the exercise became imperative following renewed threats by the militants to precipitate crisis in the region.
He said the militants had lately been issuing fresh threats to cause fresh chaos and crisis in the region, adding that the authorities of JTF suspected that the warlords might be targeting some oil installations for possible attacks.
Rimtip said he had placed the federal troops on the alert to prevent renewed criminal activities in the areas.
He said JTF had increased surveillance in the nooks and crannies of the region, adding that the security outfit had enough resources to confront the recalcitrant militants.
”Although the place (Niger Delta) is quiet for now, we (JTF) cannot relax because the so-called militants have been issuing a lot of threats of attacks. We do not know where they are planning to attack but our troops are on red alert to nip any nefarious action in the bud,” he said.
He added that regular patrol of the waterways and oilfields had been intensified by the security agency and all the military units under its command.
He added, ”Our men are everywhere to deal with any rebellious group. We are not going to attack anybody or group but we are not going to fold our hands watching while the nation‘s economic assets are being destroyed by some criminals under the guise of agitating for a better living condition in the region.
”We (JTF) are equal to the task and we only hope that they (militants) will not carry out the threats in their own interests because they will have themselves to blame if they do so.”
Consequently, Rimtip asked law abiding citizens in the region, particularly the oil operators, to go about their lawful duties without fear of attacks or intimidation, adding that the JTF had the potential to protect their interests.