Landing the Big One

Landing the Big One

Friday, November 02, 2007

Nigerian Navy Fights -- Pirates?


Nigeria doing something about the "sea robbers' in the Niger delta - 7 sea robbers dead, 1 Navy lookout also dies. Reported here:
The Navy said its matured restraint should not be mistaken for lack of fire power to curtail illegalities in the Niger Delta.
The statement reads: “the Nigerian Navy’s attention is drawn to the rather distorted version of her ship, NNS Obula's encounter with sea robbers posing as militants off Finnuwa oil fields in the early hours of October 31, 2007. The ship was on routine patrol in an area where fishing trawlers largely operate due to upsurge in attacks on trawlers, when a look-out on the ship observed that a boat was approaching menacingly.”
He raised an alarm and he was killed instantly. Security men on guard immediately opened fire, resulting in the death of seven sea robbers, while the remaining boats fled.
“The whole idea is to scare the fishing trawlers into believing that the Navy was incapable of protecting them. This has fallen flat on their face as NNS OBULA, joined by other ships are still on task. The Nigerian Navy reiterates that it will continue to perform her statutory functions and warns of very dire consequences if sea robbers and other miscreants do not desist from attacks on their facilities. The need for political solution to the Niger Delta problem and the matured restraint from the Nigerian Navy should not be mistaken for lack of fire power to curtail illegalities in the Niger Delta," he warned.

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