We’ve Achieved our Mission in the Niger Delta
By Chris Ajaero & Godfrey Azubike
Monday, September 22, 2008
Lt. Colonel Musa Sagir, spokesman of the Joint Military Task Force, JTF, in Rivers State spoke to Chris Ajaero, senior associate editor, and Godfrey Azubike, staff writer, on the renewed insurgence of the militants code named Operation Hurricane Babarossa, the efforts of the JTF to cage them and their major constraints in the task of dislodging the militants in the creeks. Excerpts:
Newswatch: What actually led to the latest insurgence by the Niger Delta militants which they code named Operation Hurricane Babarossa?
Sagir: In order to checkmate the current sea piracy and other related criminal acts on our water ways, Joint Task Force, Operation Flush Out 3, maintains a regular marine patrol. This is against the interest of the militants because they stopped them from their criminal act which is a major source of their money. In one of the patrols by our men along Elem Tombia, the militants opened fire on our men. This inevitably resulted in fierce exchange of fire, and there were massive casualties on the part of the militants. Thereafter, because of the casualties they suffered, they felt pained and as usual they resorted to wild mischievous and senseless propaganda, imputing that the JTF provoked them, damaged their speed boats, and killed innocent people in nearby villages. That is not true. That never happened. We, as members of the JTF are responsible God-fearing and morally sound security outfit. We, are mindful of collateral damages that our action or inaction can cause to the people. This was why we exercised professional restraint in this operation. That was exactly what happened.
Newswatch: There have been claims and counter claims as regards the number of casualties on the side of the JTF. What is the true position on the number of soldiers killed by the militants?
Sagir: We have told members of the public that what the militants claimed never happened. Remember, that two or three weeks ago there was a similar fabricated story that 25 soldiers were killed. When I refuted it, even the doubtful mind had no option than to accept because what I said turned out to be true. If our soldiers were killed in the process, there is no reason for us to hide it. It is not a sign of failure, and it’s not a sign of our weakness professionally. If our own soldiers were killed, we owe it a patriotic duty to tell Nigerians that during this encounter, unfortunately, a number of persons were heroically killed in the process. What we do not do is to tell you the identity of those involved. This is because it is not good for their families to hear it on the pages of newspapers. But for the number, we usually make it public. But where we did not lose any soldier, there is no need for us to create wicked propaganda against the people or against the militants. When a soldier was injured in the crossfire, I made it clear that a soldier was wounded, but he is in a stable condition. By the nature of our profession, it is hazardous, it is dangerous, we signed for that and there is no retreat. The typical mindset of a soldier is that he is even happy to taste bullet wound. It is a sign that you are really tested. All of us are praying for the day one would enter the battle field and come out with little bruises, that is the trade mark of a combatant soldier.
Newswatch: In effect, are you saying that no life was lost on the part of the JTF.
Sagir: On the whole, from Saturday, September 16, to date, during the period of this renewed crisis, no soldier was lost in the process.
Newswatch: Why was it possible for the militants to blow up the oil installations as they claimed in their renewed attacks?
Sagir: The fact that MEND sent e-mail statements that something happened does not mean it actually happened. Militants have the right to say, Oh! we have killed this number of soldiers and destroyed oil installations. The issue is, did that really happen? We are on ground. Any oil facility in Rivers State which is in our area of operation, we have our representatives. In other words, we have Joint Task Force troops on duty in every platform, be it flow station or oil pipeline. So if there is any economic sabotage on that platform, they are held accountable. And before anybody could know, they will tell us. Once there is fire, once there is any threat on soldiers’ duty locations, they will respond and alert the headquarters. We were not alerted by neither Shell nor our soldiers.
Shell facility was not set on fire by the militants. What happened was that when they attempted to attack the facility, the soldiers on guard heroically and successfully resisted the attempt. Even though the militants detonated dynamite and bombs, the soldiers thwarted the attempt. However, in the process of crossfire, bullets hit one of the most sensitive inflammable parts of the flow station, and by virtue of what it is - gas, it exploded. In other words, a portion of the flow station caught fire, and which was contained even before day break. And Shell made it clear that because of the intense security situation, they proactively took some measures to avert its degeneration. One of the measures they took was that they shut down the flow station. The damage would have been worse if the flow station was running.
Newswatch: What assurance are you giving Nigerians who are apprehensive because of the declaration of all-out war by MEND?
Sagir: Let me correct an impression. The areas that are affected by the resurgence of violence are not in the middle of society. Some are in isolated places. But then, my advice to the larger society is that they should not panic. They should not worry because the JTF, from all indications, is on top of the situation and the situation is under control. That is why, if you go round Port Harcourt city now, either in the day time or in the night, you will find people going about their normal economic and social activities without fear of any molestation. So, people shouldn’t worry.
Newswatch: To what extent would you say the JFT has achieved the objectives for which it was deployed to the Niger Delta?
Sagir: Anywhere in the world, the Joint Task Force is an ad hoc arrangement with a time frame and the mandate to achieve a certain mission. And once the mission is accomplished, it is disbanded. We have the mandate to ensure that an enabling environment is created in our area of responsibility which is the Niger Delta so that multinational oil companies, foreigners and other law abiding citizens of the nation would carry on with their lawful activities. Basically, that is our mandate.
I can tell you that we have achieved our mission to a great extent, minor hitches here and there notwithstanding. Let us look back at the situation in Rivers State during the administration of former Governor Celestine Omehia. There was a major crisis then. Before the JTF came into Rivers State, it was not unusual to hear sporadic gun shots in the day time on the major streets of Port Harcourt. Equally, it was not unusual to hear gun shots along the major waterways. But as at today, it is no longer so. Look at the issue of sea piracy. Before now people were afraid to move through the waterways. With the arrival of the JTF, the rate of sea piracy has been drastically reduced and that is to the credit of the Joint Task Force.
When you consider the improved security situation in Port Harcourt, you will agree with me that the JTF has brought a semblance of law and order to the Niger Delta. Before now, there was lawlessness and this led to the imposition of curfew in Rivers State.
Another achievement of the JTF is in the area of checking the activities of illegal oil bunkerers. Their activities were rampant in Okochiri in Okrika, Soku and Abonnema wharf. Go to these areas now you will not notice any sign of illegal oil bunkering. All these are to the credit of the JTF.
In Soku, the Navy gunboats which are component parts of JTF are there and that is why they have stopped bunkering there. And this has checked the consequences of such criminal acts in terms of fire outbreak. Before now, you always hear of fire outbreaks caused by the activities of illegal bunkerers. We have curtailed their activities by 80 percent. There was a time we declared a crackdown on illegal oil bunkering and trade on condensate which we did with passion. We are aware that illegal bunkering and trade on condensate empower the bandits financially and economically. This was why we declared a crackdown on them so that they would not raise the funds to acquire weapons. By so doing, we have helped to cage the criminals masquerading as Niger Delta militants.
However, one area we are having problem is the issue of kidnapping. This is not surprising because all the well known illegal sources of income to the militants or bandits have been plugged by the JTF. So, they just have to look for an alternative source of income, hence they resort to the abduction of innocent people for ransom. And that is our greatest challenge now. We are now mapping out strategies to stop them.
Newswatch: A few months ago, Julius Berger was working on the East-West Road under the security cover provided by the JTF. But in July, they left in fear over the threat by the militants. Does this not indicate that they are not confident of the protection offered by the JTF?
Sagir: I think you should better ask Julius Berger why they pulled out and abandoned the road project.
Newswatch: We understand that their grouse was that two of their workers were kidnapped even when they were being guarded by the JTF.
Sagir: You see, even a few days ago, a lawmaker’s father was kidnapped. The mother of a sitting governor had once been kidnapped. Soldiers were killed in the process of enforcing law and order.
So if that was the reason why Julius Berger left, I don’t consider it a genuine reason. From the security point of view I think that people should give credit to the JTF. We have provided security to the best of our ability. No country is crime free. What is expected of us as security managers is to reduce the crime rate to a manageable proportion and that is what we are doing.
Newswatch: Despite the huge presence of the JTF in most communities in the Niger Delta, including the creeks, the activities of the militants, especially kidnapping for ransom and the bombing of oil facilities have been on the increase. What are your major handicaps in caging the militants?
Sagir: There is no serious handicap as such. We are in the Armed Forces as war fighters. The issue of kidnapping is best handled by the civil police and probably the State Security Service, SSS. So, if you want to know if there is any handicap pertaining to the issue of kidnapping, it is better you ask the police. Even in the JTF setting where we have the police, army, navy, airforce and the SSS, the issue of kidnapping is handled by the police and probably the SSS.
Marine related crises are handled by the Navy. The Air Force provides air cover for the whole operation. The army are the war fighters. So, every segment of the JTF has its responsibilities.
Newswatch: In the present circumstance, would you say the segment of the JTF responsible for checking kidnapping has achieved the desired result?
Sagir: No, we can’t say they succeeded because they have not stopped kidnapping completely. But you can’t say they have failed because people were kidnapped and through the collective efforts of the security agents, they were released. All we are doing is to ensure that kidnapping does not occur which is not possible because there is no place that is crime free all over the world.
Newswatch: Is the JTF not devising strategies to reduce the activities of the militants to the barest minimum?
Sagir: A good security personnel does not disclose his strategy. War plans need to be safeguarded.
Newswatch: Why is it that the JTF has not been able to apprehend any of the militant kingpins like Ateke Tom, Soboma George and others because they are the ones that are causing the mayhem in the Niger Delta?
Sagir: It is a simple issue. In the military parlance, once a general is killed, it is believed that thousands of soldiers must have died in the process. In other words, these militant leaders are not always in the forefront when their men are engaging the JTF in any offensive. The leaders will just push their men out and then retreat to the camp. As the JTF men are firing the militants, the kingpins would be on the run and this makes it difficult for us to get them. Kingpins are always protected by their men. Remember that we had an operation in Okochiri, Okrika, in Rivers State where we narrowly missed Ateke Tom. We also had another operation whereby we narrowly missed Soboma George. We even said that he was killed during the operation but it later turned out that he escaped.
What I am telling you is that we want to grab the kingpins and we want people who have information about them to come forward and tell us their whereabouts.
Newswatch: The JTF has been here for about two years now, so one expects you to know where these kingpins are.
Sagir: The location of their camps is well known to the security agencies. We know.
Newswatch: So, what has been the problem hindering you from flushing them out?
Sagir: They are in the creeks. If you know the nature of the creeks, you can’t go there with the normal gunboat. In fact, that kind of operation is best suited by air.
Newswatch: Why can’t the JTF launch a three-pronged attack by air, sea and land on the hideouts of the kingpins in the creeks?
Sagir: What do you do with the collateral damages that would be involved? We know that they are in the creeks but people are also living there. Some of the people who live there are fishermen. What do you do to ensure that such innocent people are not caught up in the crossfire?
Moreover, we are not in a full scale war. It is a friendly force fighting another friendly force. They are Nigerians, we are constitutionally empowered to protect them and, therefore, cannot turn round to stage a full scale war on the people we are constitutionally empowered to protect. That has been the dilemma of the Niger Delta crisis.
Newswatch: Don’t you think they ought to be dealt with ruthlessly since they are constituting a nuisance to the society?
Sagir: Well, we in the JTF feel that there is no one straight jacketed solution to the Niger Delta question. Military solution is not the only way out of the problem. Other factors such as moral, economic, social, and religious options should be there.
Newswatch: How would you react to the allegation that there are bad eggs within the JTF men who alert the militants whenever there is an attempt to flush them out because they work hand-in-hand with them in illegal bunkering from which these saboteurs make a lot of money?
Sagir: I agree with you that there are bad eggs in any institution, be it military or civil. But such an allegation still remains an allegation until it is proven otherwise. Our doors are open for anyone to come forward with concrete evidence that some of our men are involved in leaking information to the militants and such persons will surely be sanctioned in the military way.
We are not saying that we don’t have bad eggs. As regards, the issue of bunkering, we cannot rule out the possibility of some bad eggs being involved. But at the level of leadership of the JTF, we are always preaching against connivance with the bandits to sabotage the nation or engage in any criminal act. If you aid or cover up any criminal act, we have a standing law that will be applied to you. It is well known to the soldiers, you cannot go scot-free.
Newswatch: Are there soldiers that were found wanting who have been sanctioned?
Sagir: Many people were found wanting in one way of the other and they were dealt with militarily. Once the gravity of the offence as established by military law warrants that you should leave the service, such soldiers were dismissed accordingly and sentenced to prison.
Newswatch: How many of such cases have you had since the coming into being of the JTF?
Sagir: Many. We don’t need to tell you the number. All I can tell you is that we have had reasons to dismiss soldiers for various offences. Any soldier who goes against the standing rule guiding our operation in the Niger Delta is dealt with militarily.
Newswatch: Recently, we learnt about the discovery of an illegal refinery in Ogoni land by the JTF. How did your men uncover it?
Sagir: We got information on the illegal refinery through a local informant. We then went on patrol, saw it and alerted the relevant authorities about it. Even the state governor was there to see it and he directed the local government chairman to demolish the place and build a modern fish farm.
Newswatch: Did you establish that the militants were behind the illegal refinery?
Sagir: Militants have what they call territorial control for economic space or influence. So, wherever you see such an illegal refinery, the militants would have been involved directly or indirectly. And you can see that the discovery of illegal refining points is a major success for the JTF because it is a serious economic sabotage against the state.
During our patrol on the illegal refining point, we arrested those we met there.
Newswatch: How many of such arrests have you made and what actions have you taken against them?
Sagir: I cannot tell you the number of arrests we have made because this happens on a daily basis. Remember that we have soldiers in Bonny, Soku, Abonnema, Degema, Buguma and Okochiri. So I can’t tell you how many arrests we have made but what I can tell you is that we have arrested many people. After the arrest, the JTF has a procedure for handling those arrested. Once an arrest is made, the suspect and the exhibit, if any, will be brought to the JTF headquarters for preliminary investigation which entails the documentations of the suspect. Thereafter, the suspect and the exhibit will be taken to the SSS or police as the case may be. The police or SSS will then do a thorough investigation to decide whether to release the suspect or prosecute him in a law court.
Newswatch: What is the JTF doing to check the activities of sea pirates and militants on the Bonny River which has led to the loss of lives of many innocent people?
Sagir: When we realised that sea piracy was on the increase along the Bonny River, the JTF commander, Brigadier General SarkinYaki Bello, in his own wisdom thought of giving out some gunboats for dedicated gunboat escorts. He directed that all the multinational companies with vessels moving towards Bonny because of its strategic importance to the nation should be escorted so that bandits will no longer disturb them. That was why we came up with the idea of dedicated gunboat escorts. If you hear of any interception by the militants on a moving vessel, you would be sure that it was not escorted by the JTF. And once it is escorted, with the mere citing of our gunboats, the militants will not come. Sea piracy has been drastically reduced.
Newswatch: Only recently, a group known as the Niger Delta Civil Society Coalition, NDCSC, claimed that the JTF has failed to live up to expectation and should be withdrawn from the Niger Delta. How would you react to such a score card for the JTF?
Sagir: In a democracy, an individual or group has the right to express an opinion, but it is the larger reasonable members of the society that will determine whether the JTF is succeeding or not. But to the best of my knowledge, all the relevant authorities in the country or in the Niger Delta are satisfied with the efforts being put in place by all the security agencies in the region to ensure that law and order are maintained. So, if any group of people say that the JTF is not succeeding, they have the right to say that. If they call for the disbandment of the JTF, they have the right to do so. But I know that many responsible Nigerians will kick against that.
Newswatch: A few weeks ago, the JTF called for the demolition of the water fronts by the Rivers State government. Why did you raise that issue again knowing fully well that it was greeted with protest when former Governor Celestine Omehia wanted to do that?
Sagir: What we are saying is that almost all the waterfronts like the Abuja waterfront, Marine Base, Nembe waterfront, Abonnema wharfs and Bundu waterfront sides serve as hide-outs for criminals. When we went to the Abuja waterfront for an operation, we discovered that it provided a cover for the criminals. Whenever the criminals are pursued by the JTF and they run down to the waterfront, they escape easily. Once they enter that place, their waiting boats will always be around to take them back to the creeks. If you are sending security forces to dislodge the militants, their informants living in the waterfronts will alert them and they will take off. And those living in the waterfronts will never tell you where the militants among them live. So, we said that in view of the security implications and the reality on ground, there is need for the relevant authorities to demolish those shanties. It is meant to secure the place and ensure peace in the state. We have realised that most of the bandits live in such areas and they love them because they give them proper protection from the prying eyes of the security agencies.
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