20101113
reuters

YENAGOA, Nigeria (Reuters) - Nigeria's military threatened on Saturday to carry out raids against what it said were camps of criminal gangs in the creeks of the oil-producing Niger Delta, and told civilians in the vicinity to leave.

Any major offensive by the armed forces would be the first in the Niger Delta, the heartland of the OPEC member's energy industry, since an amnesty programme brokered by President Goodluck Jonathan began in August 2009.

Seven expatriate workers were kidnapped from an oil rig off the Niger Delta almost a week ago, while the home of President Goodluck Jonathan's main adviser on the region was attacked with explosives late on Thursday.

"We have observed with concern some criminal acts within the past few days by some people claiming to be militants ... Many of these criminals are known to be hiding in camps within the creeks of the Niger Delta," Chief of Defence Staff Oluseyi Petinrin said in a statement.

"These camps will no longer be tolerated. To avoid any collateral damage, we are seizing this opportunity to instruct all law-abiding citizens who live around the vicinity of these camps to leave immediately," the statement said.

The military taskforce in the Niger Delta (JTF) said one camp in Bayelsa, one of the three main oil-producing states, was raided on Friday. Officials said there was an exchange of gunfire, and weapons and maps of oil facilities were seized.

The Niger Delta had been hit by years of militant attacks on oil infrastructure prior to the amnesty. At its peak, the unrest prevented Nigeria from pumping much above two thirds of its 3 million barrels per day (bpd) oil production capacity and cost it an estimated $1 billion a month in lost revenues.

A resurgence in violence would be an embarrassment for Jonathan, the first Nigerian head of state from the region who faces a tough battle in presidential elections due next April.