SOLDIERS COMB FORESTS IN SEARCH OF KIDNAPPERS

The new General Officer Commanding (GOC), 82 Divions, Enugu, Major-General Sarki Bello has declared total war on kidnappers who have been making life unbearable for innocent Nigerians in the south eastern part of the country.

Gen. Bello, who has already launched the fight and search for kidnappers upon his assumption of duty, has so far deployed soldiers into the forest to fish out the kidnappers from their hideouts.

The assistant director in charge of Public Relations in the Division, Lieutenant-Colonel Sagir Musa, told Saturday Sun that the GOC has so far visited places like Obehie, Asa, Obingwa, Ukwa, Ogwe Asa, Umuahia, Aba and the surrounding communities which are all under his area of responsibility to enlighten the communities about the mission of the soldiers.

Sagir said in all the villages he visited, Gen. Bello, explained to the villagers that the soldiers were not in their communities to fight them but that the deteriorating security situation in the area where incessant cases of kidnapping of innocent victims by the kidnappers has become the order of the day necessitated the deployment of the military task force to contain the crisis and assured them of their safety.

While charging them to be law abiding and go about their lawful duties without fear, the GOC however urged members of the communities to see the soldiers as their brothers who are on a salvage mission and assist them with credible information that will help the military and the security agencies to effectively tackle the menace.

The GOC further assured the villagers that kidnapping will soon be a thing of the past in the area as the soldiers are bent on fishing out the kidnappers out of their hideouts in a very short time.

Saturday Sun got reports that business activities is gradually returning to Aba and the neighbouring towns as people now go about their duties without fear of being molested by criminals.

Gen. Bello until his appointment to head the 82 Division, was the commander, Joint Task Force operation restore hope in the Niger Delta. He was also the commander, 2 Brigade and also headed some other military tasks and formations.