FG to deploy 10,000 troops to N/Delta- Buratai
Fri Sep 09, 2016 01:11:pm National
2.2K By Buchi Obichie
10,000 troops are to be deployed to the Niger Delta in 2017, by the Federal Government.
This was disclosed on Thursday by the Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Tukur Buratai, when he paid a courtesy visit to the Bayelsa State Governor, Seriake Dickson, at the Government House, Yenagoa.
The deployment is part of the Army's Operation Crocodile Smile (OCS) campaign in the region.
According to the COAS, so far, the Government had deployed 3,000 military personnel to the Niger Delta.
Buratai said, "The army has deployed about 3,000 officers and men, as well as equipment for the exercise.
"The number of personnel will be increased to 10,000 by next year."
Buratai added that the exercise was aimed at training officers in marine combat operations "because the state is largely riverine and borders the Atlantic ocean and therefore prone to external aggression."
He said the exercise was to also prepare the army against external and internal aggression.
Buratai assured the communities in the Niger Delta that the ongoing military exercise was designed to protect them.
He appealed for calm among the indigenes, noting that troops involved in the exercise understood the rules of engagement and would strictly adhere to them.
In his remarks, Dickson appreciated the military for their selflessness in discharging their duties.
The Governor also commiserated with them over the death of some soldiers in a boat mishap that occurred in the state.
He, however, urged them to adopt dialogue as a means of fighting criminality in the region.
This was disclosed on Thursday by the Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Tukur Buratai, when he paid a courtesy visit to the Bayelsa State Governor, Seriake Dickson, at the Government House, Yenagoa.
The deployment is part of the Army's Operation Crocodile Smile (OCS) campaign in the region.
According to the COAS, so far, the Government had deployed 3,000 military personnel to the Niger Delta.
Buratai said, "The army has deployed about 3,000 officers and men, as well as equipment for the exercise.
"The number of personnel will be increased to 10,000 by next year."
Buratai added that the exercise was aimed at training officers in marine combat operations "because the state is largely riverine and borders the Atlantic ocean and therefore prone to external aggression."
He said the exercise was to also prepare the army against external and internal aggression.
Buratai assured the communities in the Niger Delta that the ongoing military exercise was designed to protect them.
He appealed for calm among the indigenes, noting that troops involved in the exercise understood the rules of engagement and would strictly adhere to them.
In his remarks, Dickson appreciated the military for their selflessness in discharging their duties.
The Governor also commiserated with them over the death of some soldiers in a boat mishap that occurred in the state.
He, however, urged them to adopt dialogue as a means of fighting criminality in the region.
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