From Oluseye Ojo, Ibadan
The Nigerian Army on Monday launched ‘Operation Still Waters’ to tackle kidnapping and other forms of criminality in the six states of Oyo, Edo, Kwara, Ondo, Osun, and Ekiti.
General Officer Commanding (GOC), 2 Division of the Nigerian Army, Major General Gold Chibuishi, officially launched the exercise at the headquarters of the division at Adekunle Fajuyi Cantonment, Odogbo, Ibadan. The six states are under areas of responsibility of the division.
The launching was witnessed by the Commissioner of Police in Oyo State, Mrs Ngozi Onadeko, and representatives of Nigerian Air Force (NAF), Nigeria Customs Service, National Drugs Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), and Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), as well as Chief of Staff to Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State, Segun Ogunwuyi, who represented his principal.
Speaking on the occasion, Chibuishi explained that the army would work in synergy with other security agencies to address the security challenges in the six states under the division, saying: “The operation is one of those operations conceived by the Army to boost troops’ ability to tackle the current security challenges in Nigeria.
‘The operation will be based on the real-time operation to checkmate criminality and strengthen civil/military relation between security and people of the states under the division’s areas of responsibility.
‘Other operations currently being launched in other zones are exercise Enduring Peace in the North Central and Exercise Golden Dawn in South East and parts of South-South. These operations are expected to be conducted concurrently with other operations in the North East and North West,’ Gen Chibuishi said.
The GOC, however, lauded the Chief of Army Staff, Lt.-Gen. Faruk Yahaya, for his support and initiatives to reposition the Nigerian Army, soliciting the cooperation of the public for the success of ‘Operation Still Waters.’
Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State, who was represented by his Chief of Staff, Segun Ogunwuyi, promised that his administration and the good people of the state would support the Nigerian Army for the success of the operation. He commended the army for collaborating with other security agencies to tackle insecurity, noting that war against insecurity ‘cannot be won without synergy with other security agencies and the public.’