Army takes over security of Abuja

Posted by admin Armed Forces, Latest Politics Sunday, June 26th, 2011

Soldiers from the Army Headquarters Garrison (AHQG), have been drafted to all the entry points into the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), to curtail Boko Haram members, who have threatened to unleash terror on the nation’s capital.

This is coming even as top echelons of the Nigerian Army are meeting today in Abuja under the auspices of the second quarterly Chief of Army Staff Conference (COAS) to discuss ways of curbing the menace of the religious group and the current security situation in the country.

Following intelligence report that members of the sect were planning to attack the FCT, the Presidency was said to have directed the Army Headquarters in Abuja to take charge of securityTo this end, soldiers were deployed last Saturday in all the entry points into the FCT namely, Abaji/Lokoja, Suleja/Kaduna and the Abuja/Keffii roads to mount checkpoints.

Similarly, stiffer security measures are in place in all Army, Navy and Air Force barracks across the country as well as the Defence and Services Headquarters in Abuja, to forestall a recurrence of the bomb blast that took place at Mogadishu and Shadawaka mammy markets by the Boko Haram. The COAS conference, which would take place at the Command Officer’s Mess, Asokoro, was expected to be attended by Principal Staff Officers (PSOs), General Officers Commanding (GOCs), Corps Commanders, among others.

The two-day conference would review the post-elections violence and the role of soldiers. It would also review the activities of the Army in the last six months and brainstorm on the current security situation in the country with the aim of finding lasting solution. Meanwhile, as part of the security measures to keep Abuja free and safe, authorities of the Ministry of the FCT over the weekend, demolished all illegal shanties at strategic centres in Abuja, perceived to be homes of hoodlums.

The joint task force made up of members of the various security services and the military as well as some parastals under the MFCT, successfully demolished the hideouts of criminals at Bakassi, near the old abbatoir in Abuja, Area one village and a similar village around the Apo roundabout

-Sunwp_posts