Nigeria has established additional three naval formations in the oil-producing Niger Delta, apparently in a bid to effectively police the restive area, a Nigerian daily reported on Friday.
The naval units, identified as Forward Operational Base (FOB), were sited in Bonny in Rivers State, Forcados in Delta State, and Egueme in Bayelsa State, Flag Officer Commanding of the Eastern Naval Command Sunday Baje was quoted by The Punch daily as saying.
Earlier, the Nigeria government had established two naval formations in Ibaka in Akwa-Ibom State and Igbokoda in Ondo State.
Baje said construction works had begun in the three locations, while officers have been posted to the bases.
"The FOBs were introduced to be able to reach out straight to the sea, our channels are very long, some are as much as 46 nautical miles (about 85 km). But, with the FOBs, we can reach out to the sea very fast," he said.
President Olusegun Obasanjo has provided the navy with the right platforms to engage in routine patrols to curb unlawful acts, including pipeline vandalization, according to him.
"We have some fast moving boats, it is called Rapid Response Boats or Defender Boats, to patrol the creeks regularly, the boats are very versatile and we have six of them in the Eastern Command, " he added.
Nigeria is the world's eighth largest oil producer and the biggest in Africa. Most of the country's daily production of 2.5 million barrels of oil comes from the Niger Delta and nearby offshore oilfields.
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