Soldiers intercepted 73 Nasarawa men going to Imo state with 47 bikes
Soldiers intercepted 73 Nasarawa men going to Imo state with 47 bikes. The soldiers received reports of their movements and acted very quickly to prevent any crime.
Troops from 72 Special Forces Brigade, Nigerian Army, Makurdi, Benue State, have intercepted 73 young men from Nasarawa State who were on their way to Imo State.
They were arrested at the Agan tollgate, Makurdi, based on an intelligence report regarding their movement. They were found to be in possession of 47 Bajaj motorcycles in five different trucks carrying some items from Plateau State to a Port Harcourt-based company in Rivers State.
The Deputy Governor, Benson Abounu, complimented the troops, saying, despite attempts to evade arrest, the soldiers were able to stop the trucks and take the men into custody.
He encouraged the soldiers to carry out a thorough investigation of the passengers, because the responses from them didn’t add up. He said what he saw and heard were contrary to speculations that a truck loaded with arms and men set to attack the town was intercepted: “No arms were found after a thorough search conducted by the soldiers.”
He wondered how such a large group of young men from the same state could be found together and going to a place like Imo State, “which they know to be experiencing serious security challenges at the moment.”
Lieutenant Colonel A.D. Alhassan, The Commander of the 72 Special Forces Brigade, said he and his men acted on a security report and intercepted the trucks immediately because they got the hint that they were heading towards Makurdi.
He said a thorough search was conducted on them with all goods in the trucks offloaded and their motorcycles dismantled to carry out proper search: “No arms were found.”
One of the men, Emmanuel Ayugwa, said they were on their way to Imo State to engage in commercial motorcycle business, popularly known as okada.
In addition, the Nigerian Army has debunked claims that its soldiers have embarked on revenge mission in Ohafia, Abia State, due to the killing of six of its troops, allegedly by men of ESN/IPOB. It also said no soldier was murdered as speculated.
Brigadier General Mohammed Yerima, the Former Director, Army Public Relations, , said: “The attention of the Nigerian Army has been drawn to a story making rounds in the social media that troops are on vengeance mission in some communities in Abia State following the death of six soldiers in a clash with ESN/IPOB terrorists.
“The story further alleged that, as a result, residents of Elu, Amangwu and Amaekpu in Ohafia LGA have embarked on mass exodus out of fear. The NA wishes to debunk the allegation as baseless fabrication aimed at not only tarnishing the good image of the NA but to create distrust between the public and security agents in the state.
“The true position is that troops carried out routine clearance operations in line with the rules of engagement and respect for fundamental human rights of the citizens aimed restoring socio-economic activities which were hitherto disrupted by criminal activities of IPOB/ESN elements who attack security agents and government infrastructures.
“Troops of the Nigerian Army working in conjunction with personnel of Nigeria Police and other security agencies leveraging on timely and accurate intelligence provided by patriotic citizens, are working tirelessly to restore normalcy to troubled areas and to rid the state a of criminal elements.
“Consequently, we wish to reassure the good people of Abia State of the safety of their lives and properties and urge them to continue to report suspicious movements and activities of strange individuals or groups in their vicinity to the nearest security agency for prompt action.”
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