The Joint Military Task Force has said it is preparing to defend oil personnel and facilities in the Niger Delta region, after the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) threatened to resume attacks, today, in protest against the jailing of their leader, Henry Okah, by a South African court for terrorism.

In an online statement last Wednesday, MEND had said it would resume its attacks in the region today under the code-name, ‘Hurricane Exodus’.

MEND said the attacks would be sustained ‘until an unreserved apology was offered to MEND and the Nigerian government shows willingness to dialogue, the same way they are willing to dialogue with Boko Haram’.

But in his reaction to the threat, the spokesman of the Joint Task Force, Lt.-Col. Onyeama Nwachukwu, said the military was aware of the threat and had started preparations to counter it.

“Operation Pulo Shield has got wind of the threat, prior to the issuance of the statement (Wednesday) by some persons parading themselves as MEND”, he said.

“Informed by this development, we have effected some redeployment, to tackle any upheaval”, he said in a statement.

At the height of its attacks in the Niger Delta in 2006, MEND succeeded in cutting Nigeria’s oil production and exports drastically.

A successful amnesty programme announced by the Federal Government in 2009 saw thousands of militants surrendering their weapons and embracing peace, a development that ushered in a relative peace to the restive region and saw an increase in the country’s oil production.

Though MEND shunned the amnesty programme, some of its top operatives embraced it.

MEND’s last attack in the region was against a pipeline operated by Agip in Bayelsa State on 13 April 2012.

Meanwhile, the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP), and Voters Awareness Initiative (VAI), yesterday urged the Federal Government to beef up security across the country.

Reacting to threats by the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) to resume its attack in the region, the groups advised the government to take proactive measures to forestall this.

In separate interviews, the groups told newsmen, that MEND should not be allowed to carry out its threats.

Chairman, NBA, Ikeja branch, Mr Onyekachi Ubani, said that the threat of renewed campaign of violence by MEND should be taken seriously by the government.

“The security agencies should take the threat seriously. Security should be beefed up, but that alone should not be the focus of the government.

Ubani said the agitation by various ethnic groups in Nigeria was a wake-up call for the government to urgently convene a sovereign national conference, where such grievances could be addressed.

He said: “The only way to resolve Nigeria’s problem is to convene a sovereign national conference, where all groups, including MEND and the Boko Haram sect, can come out and air their grievances.

“As we speak, there are complaints of marginalisation by almost every group in Nigeria, which needs to be addressed for the sake of our collective entity.”

Executive Director, SERAP, said proactive steps must be taken to avert another crisis in the Niger Delta region.

Mumuni urged the security operatives to closely monitor persons who have identified with MEND in the past, in order to nullify the threat.

In his contribution, Mr Wale Ogunade, President, VAI, said that the failure of the government to effectively tackle Boko Haram was encouraging other groups to take to violence.

Ogunade said: “The Federal Government needs to beef up security, not only in the Niger Delta, but all over Nigeria.

“The threat of violence by MEND and the ongoing reign of terror by Boko Haram in the North, is a very dangerous signal to this nation.”