The Defence Headquarters, (DHQ), on Wednesday, said that there was no cause for the High Command of the Armed Forces of Nigeria to deploy troops to enforce the Presidential lockdown order in some states of the Federation to prevent the further spread of the deadly coronavirus pandemic in the Country.
Addressing newsmen on the update of preparedness of the Armed Forces of Nigeria on COVID-19 in Abuja, the Coordinator, Defence Media Operations, Major General John Enenche, stated the Presidential Task Force and others set up to tackle the pandemic were recording huge successes presently and as such there was reason whatsoever to intervene for now.
According to him, “the only condition the Armed Forces can come in is if the Presidential Task Force and others set up to enforce the directive want us to come in, and it has not reached the stage, we are impressed about the situation on ground for now.
“Things are still in order, we are assuring Nigerians that the Armed Forces of Nigeria is there for them, we are fully prepared for any eventuality, they should not panic.
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“As part of the efforts of the Nigeria Armed Forces to support the war against the deadly COVID-19, I wish to state that we have provided 3 additional facilities for isolation and treatment of patients.
“These are; the Nigerian Navy Hospital Warri, the Nigerian Navy Medical Centre Borokiri Port Harcourt and Nigeria Navy Logistics School Medical Centre, Owerrinta, bringing the total to 21 isolation centres.
“In addition, 80 Armed Forces Medical personnel have been trained and deployed to various centres to provide medical support”
General Enenche, the High Command of the Armed Forces of Nigeria expressed the appreciation to the general public for their understanding and compliance with the Presidential Directive in respect to the lockdown.
According to him, “it should be understood that the directive is in the best interest of the Nigerian populace, in order to prevent the spread of the dreaded COVID-19 pandemic”.
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Speaking on the update on Armed Forces Operations, General Enenche pointed out that there was no problem whatsoever with the International Joint military operations going on in the Lake Chad Basin, saying that everything was wondering perfectly as planned by the sister countries involved.
According to him, “the Nigerian component of MNJTF together with other members from the Lake Chad Basin Commission has been involved in clearance operation around the Lake Chad Basin.
“This is the fall out of the recent past aggressive and offensive action of the Armed Forces of Nigeria in the North East specifically, Operation LAFIYA DOLE Theatre.
“The combined effort of our gallant troops of the Land Component, Maritime Component and Air Component has resulted to neutralization of scores of Boko Haram Terrorists/ISWAP elements, which led to the decapitation of their various hideouts in the general area of operation.
” Following closely, troops of Special Response Area Pulka, 26 Task Force Brigade Garrison, 21 Special Armour Brigade, Civilian Joint Task Force and hunters jointly conducted a clearance operation around Zua general area in Borno State. In the process of the robust clearance operation of several Boko Haram Terrorists/ ISWAP fighters were neutralized.
“In our Maritime environment, Troops of sector 2, Operation DELTA SAFE on Friday 3 April 2020 at about 10:30 pm encountered a notorious gang of Sea Robbers at sea, who has been on the wanted list of our troops. After the firefight, which was won, troops were able to recover one of the bodies of the criminals.
“Relatedly, On the 6th of April, three of the Sea Robbers who escaped with gunshot wounds were later arrested in Bilabiri community in Ekeremor Local Government Area of Bayelsa State where they were being treated for gunshot wounds”.
He assured that the arrested Sea Robbers who are currently undergoing treatment and preliminary investigations would be handed over to the appropriate authorities for prosecution.
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