INSECURITY: CRACKDOWN AS ARMY BEGINS EXERCISES IN SOUTHWEST, SOUTHEAST, OTHERS. (PHOTO).

 Insecurity: Crackdown as army begins exercises in Southwest, Southeast, others

....Initiative targets rising wave of kidnapping, armed robbery, cultism

....Gunmen kidnap nine in Zamfara State

....17 abducted Ondo worshippers regain freedom

....Two arrested in fresh raid of suspected IPOB camps

....Army begins three exercises to curb kidnapping, cultism, others

The Nigerian Army is launching a new initiative amidst the rising wave of kidnapping, armed robbery and other criminal activities across the country.

Three exercises are scheduled to be conducted by the army over the next three months in the southern and northern parts with the North East and North West as the only exceptions.

The Director of Army Public Relations, Brig.-Gen. Onyema Nwachukwu, told reporters yesterday in Abuja that the North West and the North East currently have Operation Hadin Kai and Operation Hadarin Daji and have no need for fresh preparations to tackle criminalities.

Nwachukwu spoke on a day terrorists abducted nine persons including six members of a family and three other persons at Tsohuwar Kasuwa community in Kaura Namoda Local Government Area of Zamfara State and 24 hours after troops of Joint Task Force South East Operation UDO KA II raided an alleged camp of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) and its paramilitary arm, the Eastern Security Network (ESN) in Imo State, resting two suspects.

The rising wave of insecurity had also attracted the attention of the Senate which on Thursday invited service chiefs to brief it on the steps being taken to mitigate rising insecurity across the land.

Nwachukwu explained that the planned exercises would run from this month to December and then transform into full fledged operations.

 They are codenamed “GOLDEN DAWN III” in the South East; “ENDURING PEACE III” in the North Central and “STILL WATERS III” in the South-South and South West.

“These exercises are designed to improve individual and collective professional competence and would dovetail into real time operations to tackle various peculiar security challenges in the geo-political zones,” Nwachukwu said. 

The army spokesperson said exercise GOLDEN DAWN III would tackle securitychallenges in the South East, such as armed robbery, kidnapping, cultism, communal clashes which, according to him, usually become pronounced in the build up to the yuletide, when many citizens return home to celebrate.

He said: “The exercise will focus on enhancing the capabilities of our troops in intelligence gathering and effective, proactive response to criminalities.

“With the exercise, we aim to improve the security in the Southeast and ensure safety of the populace during the period that will culminate in the yuletide.”

Nwachuckwu said in the North-Central, exercise ENDURING PEACE III , would address farmer-herder conflicts, cattle rustling, banditry, kidnapping, ethno-religious conflicts and terrorism among others.

 “The exercise will equip our troops with the necessary skills to combat banditry, including hostage rescue operations, intelligence-driven raids and effective coordination with other sister services and security agencies,” he said.

On STILL WATERS III planned for the South-South and South-West, he said the exercise would tackle  the menace of cultism, robbery and kidnapping.

“It will equally seek to address the challenges of pipeline vandalism and other forms of economic sabotage. The exercise will also focus on securing critical infrastructures,” Nwachukwu said.

“Our troops would be trained on advanced surveillance techniques, rapid response tactics and the use of technology to effectively counter pipeline vandalism.

“By conducting this exercise, we aim to curb economic sabotage, protect national assets and ensure a stable environment for economic growth.”

Responding to a question  on why the Army decided to launch fresh  operations in the South East which already has Operations Udoka, Nwachuckwu said the focus of the current one  is addressing secession agitations and the criminalities associated with the agitations in the region, while exercise GOLDEN DAWN III is geared towards addressing crimes like armed robbery, kidnapping and other crimes associated with the yuletide.

He said: “During the three months that will culminate into the yuletide, October, November and December, many Nigerians will be returning from overseas.

“During this period, the expectation is that the tendency for kidnapping is higher and to nip this in the bud, we are being proactive by springing up these exercises.”

He said there are non-kinetic operations embedded in the exercises like medical outreaches that will bring succour to Nigerians in order to win their heart and minds to support the exercises.

Two arrested in fresh raid of IPOB/ESN camp

The Joint Task Force South East Operation UDO KA II announced yesterday that its personnel arrested two suspects during a raid on an alleged camp of IPOB and ESN at Ihioma-Ihittenansa in the Orsu Local Government Area and Okigwe-Umulolo in the Okigwe Local Government Area of Imo State on Thursday.

Spokesman for the JTF, Lieutenant Colonel Jonah Unuakhalu, said in a statement that the clearance operations were aimed at “identifying and destroying possible camps of the fleeing IPOB/ESN terrorists killing and maiming as well as extorting innocent citizens of the South-East region in the name of agitation.”

Also seized during the operations, according to him, were five CCTV cameras, two laptops and a charger, eight mobile phones, three boots, camouflage shorts, two motorcycles, and a beret.

17 Abducted Ondo church choir members regain freedom

The 17 remaining members of the Christ Apostolic Church (CAC), Oke Igan, Akure in Ondo State, who were abducted on their way to a funeral on Friday last week, have regained their freedom.

The kidnappers had accosted the bus conveying the church members on the Owo/Ifon-Benin Highway and abducted 25 of them before they could reach their Ifon destination.

The police had, however, said that that eight of the victims regained their freedom hours after they were abducted.

The remaining victims were believed to have been released after payment of N50 million as ransom.

A leader of Ondo CAC, who confirmed release of the church members, said they were dropped at the same place they were abducted.

He confirmed that money was paid as ransom by the church and families of the victims to secure their release.

He said: “The negotiating team of the church returned with the remaining victims at 11:47 pm to the premises of the church in Akure.

“They were subsequently taken to the hospital as they all looked weak and frail and we rushed them to the police clinic in Akure. They are responding to treatment”.

Regional Superintendent of the church’s Odubanjo Region, Pastor Benjamin Akande, said most of the victims were tired and looked frail.

He said they had been taken to hospital for treatment.

Terrorists abduct man, three daughters, five others in Zamfara

Gunmen early yesterday stormed Tsohuwar Kasuwa, abducting  six members of a family: two wives of a man, three daughters and a son.

Three other residents were similarly taken away by the gunmen who struck at about 2am.

Five cattle were aslo rustled by the hoodlums.

The state is yet to recover from the recent attack on the Federal University Gusau where several female students were abducted by gunmen.

Only on Thursday, the Senate invited Service chiefs to brief it on the steps being taken to mitigate the rising insecurity in the country.

Those invited to appear before the Red Chamber in a closed-door session are: Chief of Defence Staff  (CDS) Gen. Christopher Musa; Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Lt-Gen. Taoreed Lagbaja; Chief of Air Staff (CAS) Air Marshal Hassan Abubakar and Chief of Naval Staff (CNS) Vice Admiral Emmanuel Ogalla.

The Senate asked the military and other security agencies to conduct special operations to dislodge the bandits terrorising the Northwest zone and other parts of the country.

It also urged the various security operatives to be more proactive and to ensure the immediate release of all kidnapped victims in the country, including the students kidnapped in federal universities in Gusau, Zamfara State and in Dutsinma, Katsina State; the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) members kidnapped in Zamfara, among others.

The lawmakers also urged the Federal Government to address the manpower needs of the police and other security agencies to enable them tackle the security situations.

They called on the Federal Government to address unemployment and poverty in the country which it described as twin evils fueling insecurity.

It directed the police to ensure that the school protection squad demonstrates a clear commitment to protecting school children and providing a safe environment where students and teachers can engage in teaching and learning without the fear of being attacked or kidnapped.

The Senate further directed its Committee on Legislative Compliance to ensure the relevant security agencies comply with its resolutions.

These resolutions followed Senate’s consideration of a motion titled: “Kidnapping of university students in Federal University Dutsinma, Katsina State on Wednesday, October 4th 2023 and the rising cases of kidnapping for ransom in the Northwest Geopolitical zone.”

The motion was moved by Senator Abdulaziz Musa Yar’Adua (APC – Katsina Central).