Buhari highlights the Challenges Of Niger Delta Militancy

                                               
President Muhammadu Buhari has said his major challenge in resolving the Niger Delta militancy was the inability to clearly pin-point leaders manning various factions within the group.
He said it has been uncovered that the militant groups were seeking to colonise Nigeria as reflected in their careless destruction of critical oil installations in the region.
Buhari, who played host to the Foreign Minister of Federal Republic of Germany, Frank-Walters Steinmeier, at the State House, Abuja, said Germany could be of assistance in curbing the menace of oil theft in Nigeria.
President Buhari said the Niger Delta situation was more complex since the militants had no central command and some of them were mere extortionists, but promised that a handle would be found to the unrest soon.
The president particularly said such assistance could be in the areas of equipment, training, and sharing of intelligence with the Nigerian Navy.
“Another serious form of insecurity has reared its head in the Niger Delta. The objective is to colonise the country economically by sabotaging oil and gas installations.

“We have been trying to speak with their leaders, to know how many groups there are, and we are also working with the oil companies.
“The militants engage in sophisticated sabotage, using skills they had gained from trainings either by government, or the oil companies, to vandalise installations deep in the sea.
“We need to understand who the real agitators are, and engage with them, so that confidence can be restored in the region,” the president added.
He lamented that Nigeria’s oil was still being stolen, and taken away through the Gulf of Guinea, but that adequate training and equipping of the Navy will prevent this trend from escalating.
He told Steinmeier that the security challenge in the North East of the country was under control with Boko Haram largely defeated.
Dr. Steinmeier, in his response, said Germany was happy to hear of the strides taken by the Buhari administration against insurgents in the North East, adding that they were equally willing to lend a helping hand in resolving the crisis in the Niger Delta.