The Defence Headquarters, DHQ yesterday, told oil firms not to be scared of the Niger Delta militants and quit operations, dismissing the two weeks ultimatum as empty threats.
The Director of Defence Information, DDI, Brigadier- General Rabe Abubakar, who spoke to National Mirror in Abuja, declared that; “Niger Delta is part and parcel of Nigeria and shall remain so forever.”
This is coming about four days after the Niger Delta avengers issued two weeks ultimatum for oil firms to vacate the region. The group which had claimed responsibilities for recent attacks on oil installations in the region had ordered oil firms to shut down operations in view of the imminent attacks.
The group, in a statement signed by its spokesman, Mudoch Agbinibo, had warned that failure to comply with the directive will be bloody, boasting that the military lacked the power to prevent it from striking.
However, the DHQ said that “they are dreaming”, stressing that “you can’t ask anybody to leave any part of Nigeria.”
Warning that nobody should leave the area because of the empty threats, the Defence Spokesman said that everyone is free to stay anywhere in Nigeria.
He said since the region is part of Nigeria, there is no plans by the Nigerian military to allow any militant group to take hold of any part thereof to exercise control.
“We are not moved at all by their threat, it means nothing to us. We are not moved at all,” the military declared.
