Apochi Suleiman, a Naval Rear Admiral and the new Commander deployed to take charge of the military operation in the Niger Delta codenamed “Operation Delta Safe” has said that he would introduce new strategies in order to better protect Nigeria’s oil facilities from militants.
The federal government has blamed the incessant destruction of oil facilities by militants in the Niger Delta as being directly responsible for the persistence recession in the Nigerian economy in the third quarter of 2016.
The Niger Delta Avengers militant group has said that it has blown up three pipelines belonging to Agip, Oando and Shell oil companies, "in response to the so-called ‘Operation Sharkbite’, an act of terrorism commissioned by the tyranny of the Nigerian Navy ."
One of the militant groups that have terrorized the Niger Delta region in recent times, Bakassi Strike Force, BSF, has surrendered some of its arms to the Nigerian Military authorities as a sign of its willingness to surrender and quit militancy if the federal government addressed their concerns.