PHILIP NWOSU
Over 1,000 resident of Isawo in the Ikorodu area of Lagos received free medical care and medicine from the military medical personnel of the 81 Division of the Nigerian Army in Lagos as part of the package for the military maneuver, code-named Exercise Egwu Eke 111.
The residents, including women and children and aged persons, received various medical checks, including checks for malaria, typhoid fever, and eye ailments. They were provided with drugs for malaria and other ailments including arthritis and eye problems.
Residents of the community trooped out en masse to access the free medical services, while over 100 pupils of the Anglican Community Primary School, in the area received books and writing materials as part of the outreach by the Exercise Egwu Eke 111.
The 9 Brigade Commander, Brigadier General T.A Lagbaja, who supervised the free medical outreach also visited troops stationed in the Isawo area of Ikorodu.
Speaking to our correspondent, the community leader of Isawo, Alhaji Adisa Owolabi, commended the army for the outreach and also explained that the Nigerian Army personnel attached to the Operation Awatse in the Ikorodu area had been doing well especially in checking criminals and other miscreants operating in the area.
READ ALSO: Elections: Disregard cynicism, vote wisely, Catholic bishops urge Nigerians
He recalled what he called days of infamy in the Ikorodu area when militants and oil thieves held the town hostage, explaining that, “for seven months we ran away from our houses until the military was deployed.”
Similarly, Mr, Biodun Sunday, another community leader also commended the outreach by the military, calling on the government to consider establishing a barrack in Isawo to checkmate the incursion of hoodlums and pipeline vandals.
The Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant General Tukur Buratai, had during the flag off of Exercise Egwu Eke 111, warned criminals that they should seek refuge elsewhere to avert being swallowed by the python.
He explained that the objective of the military maneuver was to reinvigorate all existing operations in the country with additional manpower, equipment, and resources to address the lingering security problems in the country.