Tinubu, in a television broadcast, said he had received security reports in the last two days of "disturbing incidents of vandalisation of pipelines by some militants without the governor taking any action to curtail them."

"With all these and many more, no good and responsible president will standby and allow the grave situation to continue without taking remedial steps prescribed by the constitution to address the situation in the state," added Tinubu.

Police said earlier they were investigating the cause of a blast in Rivers state that resulted in a fire on Nigeria's Trans Niger Pipeline, a major oil artery transporting crude from onshore oilfields to the Bonny export terminal.

Rivers, in the Niger Delta, is a major source of crude oil and militants have in the past blown up pipelines, hampering production and exports.

The State has been embroiled in a political crisis pitting factions of the opposition People's Democratic Party against each other. The State lawmakers had also threatened to impeach the Governor and his deputy.

--Reuters--