Army restates commitment to end kidnapping in S-East

Posted by admin South-East, Top Stories Tuesday, March 8th, 2011

OWERRI – The Nigerian Army has reassured the citizenry that it will intensify efforts to arrest the ugly incidents of kidnapping and other criminal activities in the South East geo-political zone.

The Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Azubuike Ihejirika, stated this when he paid a courtesy call on Imo State governor, Chief Ikedi Ohakim, at Government House, Owerri.

Ihejirika explained that he was on a tour of military formations across the country to ascertain the level of preparedness of his men towards ensuring security in next month’s general elections.

The COAS also said he had the mandate to transform Nigerian Army, as well as reposition it to tackle the internal security challenges currently facing the country.

Responding, Governor Ohakim said the task of achieving free and credible election in the country required a collective responsibility of the government, armed forces, security agencies and the citizenry.

Ohakim commended the COAS for deploying additional 300 soldiers to the state to assist the security outfit, “Operation Festival,” put in place by his administration to fight crime and criminals.

Addressing officers and men of 34 Field Artillery Brigade, Obinze, Ihejirika warned the soldiers not to live above their means, stressing that he would not tolerate indiscipline in whatever form, among them
Fielding questions from newsmen later, Ihejirika said he was not satisfied with the state of infrastructure in the barracks and promised to address the issue of accommodation facing the soldiers.

He said soldiers’ welfare would be made a top priority and promised to do something about those who had stagnated on one rank for a long time, as well as provide the soldiers with new uniforms.wp_posts