Jos operation crucial to Nigeria’s survival –Army Chief

Daily Trust

3 February 2011

Jos operation crucial to Nigeria’s survival –Army Chief

The Chief of Army Staff  Lieutenant General Azubike Ihejirika yesterday said the Jos peace keeping operation is of paramount importance to the survival of the country, urging the newly deployed troops to the state to deem it as such.

Ihejirika, who was addressing the 870 troops including 21 officers in Jos after their arrival said they would not tolerate any form of religious or ethnic bias from any soldier involved in the operation, calling on the soldiers to always be proactive rather than reacting to crisis situations.

“The job you are doing here is very important to the survival of Nigeria and this is why the government is determined to provide all the support you require, many more vehicles are coming to make your patrol effective. I will not tolerate any form of religious or ethnic bias in carrying out your job. I am sure all these have been emphasized during the training”, he warned.

The army chief who pointed out that the troops were in the state to take over from the troops on ground further urged them not to allow the situation degenerate before taking action, stressing that minimum force should be used in the course of keeping peace.

According to him, it is a serious offence for any of them to refuse to respond to a crisis situation or distress call, adding that such action would be dealt with seriously.