Tension Mounts In Warri Creeks As Military Deploys Fighter Jets, Helicopters, Gunboats.

Tension Mounts In Warri Creeks As Military Deploys Fighter Jets, Helicopters, Gunboats.

There was apprehension among riverine dwellers, yesterday, as the Nigerian Navy and Army deployed fighter jets, helicopters and gunboats to the creeks and other strategic locations in Warri South-West Local Government Area, Delta State, in response to last Friday’s threat by the Niger Delta Avengers (NDA) to resume the bombing of oil facilities, reports reaching Odogwublog  reveals. 

Some oil servicing company workers, who returned to Warri from Escravos, on Monday night, said that they sighted the massive build-up by the armed forces on their way back from work. However, yesterday afternoon, riverine dwellers, especially in Gbaramatu Kingdom, reported that fighter jets and helicopters hovered around the communities, causing some of them, mainly women and children, to run into hiding in the forest.

However, when contacted, the Commander, Nigerian Navy Ship (NNS) Delta, Warri Naval Base, Commodore Ibrahim Dewu, said: “What they are speculating as military deployment is routine patrol along Escravos and the Trans Forcados Pipeline. Once we sense any security concern on that line, our men usually move in to patrol the area. Nobody is deploying any gunboat or jets to specific communities. It is a normal patrol.”