Army to dismantle some road blocks in south-east during Yuletide

The ‘Operation Python Dance’ of the Nigerian army says some of its road blocks in the south-east will be dismantled to facilitate free flow of traffic during the Yuletide.

 

Musa Sagir, deputy director, public relations of 82 Division Nigerian Army, Enugu, disclosed this while on patrol with journalists at the River Niger bridge head, Onitsha and Awka, on Sunday.

 

Sagir said that it had become imperative to remove totally or shorten some of the checkpoints, particularly within the bridge head, Onitsha, as the Yuletide drew closer.

 

He called on other security agencies operating within the bridge head to support the army to ensure free flow of traffic in the area. He said that the operation was not to witch-hunt any group or individuals but it was purely for military training and crime prevention.

 

“Our men stay on the side of road watching in case of any criminality and obstruction on the road,” Sagir said.

 

“You have seen that we are not looking for any group or individual to arrest since our operation started on November 27 and will end on December 27 in the five eastern states”.

 

“The Nigerian Army has to ensure safety, peace and security, and to ensure that Nigeria’s security challenges are reduced to the barest minimum.”

 

“No holidays for all the military personnel in the South-East throughout the period of the exercise.”

Yuletide: AIG Warns Policemen Not To Mount Road Blocks

Officers and men of Zone 6 Police Command have been ordered to conduct only stop and search on vehicles and not to mount road blocks on the highways at Yuletide.

Mr Abubakar Marafa, Assistant Inspector General of Police in-charge of Zone 6, Calabar, gave the directive on Wednesday during a familiarisation tour of the Cross River command.

Marafa said crime fighting was more effective through intelligence gathering and not by mounting road blocks which impede smooth flow of traffic and used to extort money from motorists.

He reiterated that mounting of road blocks by the police was illegal.

“We are in a digital era, and crime fighting has gone beyond the confines of blocking the road to collect money from drivers and also slowing movement on the road.

“Stop and Search is a more effective way of combating crime because it is based on intelligence report’’, he said.

Marafa said a lot of people would be on the road travelling to different locations during the Christmas period, hence the duty of the police was to safeguard their lives by providing them with appropriate security.

“We have to do our best to safeguard the lives of the people travelling during the Christmas period and not to slow down their movement by extorting money from them’’, he said.

He urged policemen not to act beggarly but to be courageous while confronting suspects during their stop and search operation.

Mr Jimoh Ozi-Obeh, Commissioner of Police in the state, said the command had put necessary measures in place to ensure a crime free Christmas in Calabar and also during carnival.

Credit: dailytrust