Don’t Use Army to Confront Niger Delta Militants – UK Warns Buhari

British Foreign Minister, Philip Hammond, has cautioned the President Muhammadu Buhari-led Federal Government against using the army to fight militancy in the Niger Delta region.

Speaking with Journalist in Abuja, the Minister said the use of army to address the grievance in the Niger Delta region could end in disaster.

Hammond said, “It’s obviously a major concern. The idea that your answer is by moving big chunks of the Nigerian army to the Delta simply doesn’t work, “It won’t deal with the underlying issues.”

“Buhari has got to show as a president from the north that he is not ignoring the Delta, that he is engaging with the challenges in the Delta.”

Hammond’s call is coming at the heels of resurgence in the activities of militancy in the Niger Delta region.
A militant group known as the Niger Delta Avengers, NDA, had in recent weeks blown up some major oil pipeline in the region.

NDA had issued a two week ultimatum to oil firms to vacate the region because they wanted a greater share of oil revenues and an end to oil pollution.