Xinhuanet, LAGOS: The Nigerian navy plans to deploy two additional warships and 1,000 more troops to the country's restive oil-producing Niger Delta, a newspaper report said on Monday.
Already, at least 1,500 officers and soldiers from the army hadbeen moved three months ago when angry youths unleashed terror on oil companies and their workers.
The plan to move more men to strengthen security in the oil-rich region was taken at separate meetings held at the weekend by top naval chiefs, according to The Guardian newspaper.
The newspaper said the navy got a tip-off that the threat by the youths should be taken more seriously as different ethnic militia continued to emerge daily.
And the Nigerian presidency had already alerted defense headquarters to put naval and other military operatives on the alert, a senior officer was quoted as saying.
At least 500 speed boats manned by naval officers now patrol the creeks, giving 24-hour situation reports to the four warships already in the region, the source said.
Meanwhile, following the latest mode of operations mounted by illegal oil bunkerers in the region through the use of small boatsto siphon crude from various oil wells, the navy has directed operatives on the high seas to arrest any boat not bearing the emblem of the navy or the marine police.
The Niger Delta produces the majority of Nigeria's 2.2 million barrels of oil daily, but crude theft and other criminal acts are common there, leading to some 1,000 deaths yearly.
