In response to the upsurge in piracy and other criminal activities in the Niger Delta region, the Nigerian Navy has launched a massive operation to ensure effective security of the maritime sector. The operation, which is codenamed ‘Operation Tsare Teku’, is coming barely 48 hours after President Muhammadu Buhari, issued a strong warning to deal with criminals in the region in the same manner with Boko Haram terrorists.
Chief of Naval Staff (CNS), Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas, at a press briefing on Friday in Abuja, said that he has set up a Task Force Committee, headed by a Commodore, to handle the operation aimed at clearing the nation’s territorial waters of criminals.
Vice Admiral Ibas, who was represented by the Chief of Training and Operations (CTOP), Nigerian Navy (NN), Rear Adm. Henry Babalola, disclosed that 7 Nigerian Naval Ships (NNS) will be involved in the operations.
He said that 4 have been deployed, which are: NNS Andoni, NNS Okpabana, NNS Kyanwa and NNS Sagbama; while the remaining 3 naval ships would join the operation later on, including NNS Centenary, NNS Zaria and NNS Burutu.
The Naval Chief emphasised that the nation’s economy is feeling the bite of the activities of pirates and other related criminal activities in the maritime sector and warned that no serious country, would tolerate the sabotage of the vital sectors of its economy and vowed that the region would be cleared of all criminal activities.
