Security agencies in the Niger Delta region have put their men on the alert following intelligence report that some armed groups plan to launch a massive attack on government structures and oil companies in the region.
Our correspondent learnt that all the Joint Task Force formations in the region had been issued instructions to deal decisively with attempts to scurry the security of their areas of operations.
A top security source told our correspondent that the order became necessary following intelligence reports that some militant groups were planning a major offensive in the region.
The attack, the source said, was particularly planned for Rivers State following the clampdown on the Niger Delta Vigilante Movement on the orders of the state government.
The instruction, the source said, urged all troops and deployments in the state to be at maximum alert to deal with any issue that might arise in their area of operations.
The source said, �Information at our disposal shows that the armed groups are planning to stage a serious attack on security forces, government institutions and multinational companies.
�The attack is part of their attempt to cover up their criminal activities under the guise of the genuine struggle for the region.�
He said that heads of the different units of the JTF in Rivers State had issued similar instructions to their sub-commanders and troops on the new approach to containing militant groups in the area.
But when contacted, the spokesman for the JTF, Lt. Col. Sagir Musa, said that no order had been issued to troops concerning the speculated plan of attacks by armed groups in the state.
�I am not aware of any order to the security agencies in Rivers State to be on red alert to deal decisively with any crisis situation here. We have no such order.
�Be that as it may, all concerned individuals and groups in Nigeria would want to see a situation whereby there is peace and stability in the Niger Delta region and particularly in Rivers State which is our area of responsibility.
�Whatever you see us do, we do it patriotically to ensure that peace and stability reign.
�If you see us being more committed and vigilant, we are just being alive to our responsibilities and not because of any order from above as you are imputing.�
When asked why troops did not move in immediately to stop the attack on the residence of the oil magnet, Chief Olu Lulu Briggs, Musa said the JTF was not informed of the incident on time.
He said, �We were not informed. We did not know and by the time we got to know, it was too late. We were at the scene of the incident but they had left.
�What are we doing here if not to respond to such situations? If we had information on the attack early enough, the situation would have been otherwise. But we did not get information on time.�