The Joint Task Force (JTF) -- comprising the military, police, navy, airforce and state intelligence services -- is charged with marshalling forces to crush militants in the restive southern Niger Delta.

Established six years ago, the JTF has the daunting task of fending off attacks against crude installations. As the world's eighth-largest oil producer, Nigeria depends on oil for more than 90 percent of revenues.

The relaxed atmosphere at the barracks belies the reality outside, where troops face off with militants in the creeks and swamps of the Niger Delta who are bent on crippling the industry.

This week, rebels of the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) struck in the heart of the commercial capital Lagos, claiming an attack on an oil depot which started a major fire and killed at least five people.

The group on Wednesday declared a 60-day truce in its "oil war" with the government after the release of its leader Henry Okah under an amnesty deal.

MEND says it is fighting for a greater share of the oil wealth for residents in the Delta.

JTF commanders meet regularly in the "situation room" at Efferun to take strategic decisions on troop and weapons deployment. The base is located near Warri, roughly halfway between Lagos and the "oil capital" in Rivers State, Port Harcourt.

"We hand out orders to our troops on how best to tackle the militants who have declared war against their fatherland," JTF spokesman Colonel Rabe Abubakar told AFP.

Violence in the region in the past three years has cost Nigeria, Africa's erstwhile premier oil exporter, a third of its production and billions of dollars in revenue.

In Lagos and Port Harcourt, expatriates of multinational oil firms live precariously in luxury, often escorted on trips by military or police.

Abubakar said scores of troops are deployed daily to escort and guard oil firms' facilities and personnel in the region's creeks where unrest has cost Nigeria a fortune since the beginning of 2006.

"This kind of exercise is routine. We have to ensure the region is properly secured from criminals and economic saboteurs," he said.

MEND's declared "oil war" has claimed dozens of victims within the ranks of JTF, MEND and the local communities.

The JTF has failed to stop an escalation of attacks on oil installations in the Niger Delta, before the strike on Lagos.

No stringent security checks are run on visitors by soldiers on guard at the JTF offices. A mere self-introduction and purpose of visit sees one ushered in among a cluster of bungalows.

There are no visible signs of bunkers, machine guns, fighter planes or gunboats of the JTF at Efferun.

"Our guns and bullets are our strength. It will be suicidal to expose them to the enemies. It's like revealing a trade secret to competitors," said a military officer.

Dressed in the official Nigerian green and khaki fatigue, JTF officers and soldiers look no different from their colleagues in the regular army.

They do display, however, a courteous disposition and a high level of discipline.

"Can I help you, sir?" a corporal asked an AFP reporter, contrasting with the rudeness associated with some security agents elsewhere in Nigeria.

Inside most offices are computers and two-way communication radios. But the main communications room -- where vital information is received from the field and passed on -- is out of bounds for visitors.

Despite the discipline displayed, JTF troops have been accused of atrocities including rape and extra-judicial killings. But Abubakar dismisses the allegations as "unfounded."

"The JTF has an internal control system of dealing with erring officers. We will never condone any act of indiscipline," he said. "There will be no compromise on that."

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