The Chief of Naval Staff (CNS), Vice Admiral Ibok-Ette Ibas warns that the military would come down heavily on the militants if they fail to embrace peace.
The Nigerian Navy has warned militants in the Niger Delta to embrace the peace offered by the federal government or face the full might of the military.
The Chief of Naval Staff (CNS), Vice Admiral Ibok-Ette Ibas, who gave the warning during an interview with Daily Sun, said that the Navy has the capacity to wipe out militancy from the Niger Delta region.
He said the Navy has refrained from applying force due to the ongoing negotiations with the militants by the government.
The navy boss however, warned that the military would come down heavily on the militants should the dialogue between the various tiers of government and the militants fail.
The vice admiral called on the militants to have a rethink of their acts which he said is threatening the economy of the country.
He said no responsible government anywhere in the world would fold its arm and watch a group of militants take laws into their hands by disrupting the peace and economy of its nation.
According to Ibas, the Buhari administration, more than administrations before it in the last few decades, has made enormous investments in the procurement of desired facilities for the force.
He insisted that the Navy has done well especially in the area of helping to fight insurgencies and pirates.
“The Navy has done a lot to support the national objective. The economic mainstream of the nation is domiciled in the maritime domain. If the Navy doesn’t have the capacity to ensure that the activities out there are uninterrupted, then there will be serious crisis in the nation.
“We have also tried to collaborate with other national agencies to keep the maritime space secure,” he said.
Meanwhile, militant group, Niger Delta Justice Defence Group (NDJDG) has attacked oil pipelines in Bera, Gokana local government area of the Rivers state on early hours of August 4, Thursday.
The group revealed about this in a statement made available to NAIJ.com.
The militants said that this is in continuation of their warning to the government of Muhammadu Buhari to immediately look into their demand and attend to them.