The trending video and killings by ‘Niger Delta Avengers’ militants on Nigerian Navy personnel deployed to a waterways security vessel in Bayelsa State was actually a recording of a simulation exercise held at the headquarters of the Navy’s Western Naval Command, Lagos, investigations have shown.
Sources said that it was part of an exercise to stimulate a likely attack on a naval base by criminal elements and had nothing to do with Niger Delta Avengers or any group.
A source noted that there was no way such an attack would have taken place in real life without the information getting out either officially of informally.
According to the source, “yes, there was a simulation exercise last week in the Lagos general area by Nigerian Navy personnel. It is normal. Yes, it looked real but remember that such simulation exercises are fully simulated and include scenarios that are as close to reality as possible that tests the capability of an organization, this time, the Nigerian Navy.
“It also tests her entity to respond to such a simulated emergency or crisis situation. There was all and because it was recorded by someone who by the way was unauthorized, it got into the wrong hands who sent it to Social Media and it suddenly became a story.”
A video seen showed about three naval personnel were gunned down by an armed group during an invasion of a naval base, which some reports labelled Niger Delta Avengers militants.
The reported Niger Delta Avengers had on June 27 threatened that they would return with “Operation Humble” which is similar to its “Operation Red” of 2016, designed to destroy oil and gas installations in the region as part of its campaign to cripple the nation’s major revenue infrastructure.
A statement sighted on the group’s acclaimed website had stated that they would attack politicians working and collaborating with the Federal Government “to undermine the interest of the Niger Delta region.”
The group bemoaned the fact that the region had remained neglected despite its rich resources, stressing that its fresh violent onslaught against oil installations will shake the economy.
