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Soldiers deployed to streets in Owerri
Barely two weeks after the robbers’ layed siege to a new generation bank in the heart of Owerri, the men of the Nigerian Army, mostly drawn from the 34 Artillery Brigade of the Nigerian Army, Obinze, have been deployed on joint patrol with their police counterparts in the city.
The soldiers were sighted strategic locations in Owerri, particularly the main roads leading into and out of the city, conducting intensive searches on vehicles and passengers. Such roads inlcuded Port Harcourt Road, Mbaise Road, Orlu Road, and Aba Road by Nekede junction.
The deployment of the soldiers came on the heels of a Nigerian Army exercise tagged ‘Dragon Net-1’, which was declared open by the General Officer Commanding the 82 Division of the Nigerian Army, Major General Abdulafiz Adewuyi, on Wednesday, and attended by all top security officers in sensitive position in Imo State.
Adewuyi explained during his opening remarks at the two-day security programme that the exercise was expanded to include other security outfits outside of the Army because of the directive during a presidential retreat with security agencies early this year in Port Harcourt.
Similarly on Friday, the Acting Inspector General of Police in charge of Zone 9 of the Nigeria Police, Umuahia, Mr. Sunday Aghedo, told journalists in a press conference in Owerri, that there would be increased police presence in Owerri.
The A.I.G said that the police would focus attention on the hotels and advised members of the public who frequents such places to exhibit caution, while also appealing for information to the police to aid the performance of their security responsibilities.
A source who spoke with Sunday Punch on condition of anonymity revealed that the deployment of the soldiers to complement police efforts to prosecute the battle against crime in Owerri was a presidential directive which was a response to the presentation made by the Imo State Government. The Imo State Police Command, Mr. Mohammed Isah, a Deputy Superintendent of Police, however told our correspondent that the action was a measure embarked upon to beef up security in the state.
SUNDAY PUNCH, August 07, 2005
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