Service Chiefs rose from a closed door meeting yesterday, at the 2nd Amphibious Brigade, Bori Camp, Port Harcourt, Rivers State and announced their readiness to proceed to the suburbs and creeks, to�smoke out� cultists and militants who indulge in criminalities in the Niger Delta.
Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant General Luka Yusuf, who responded to questions shortly after addre-ssing men of the Joint Task Force (JTF), frowned at civilians� maltreatment by the troops.
Luka, who jointly addressed the JTF with the Chief ofAir Staff, Air Marshall Paul Dike, said on no account should anyone be humiliated at check points, pointing out that there was no war in the state to warrant maltreatment of any citizen.
He said this after Air Marshall Dike explained their mission to the state, saying it was �to know what the security situation is and ensure that our men keep to the standards and stop their excesses.�
He said reports of armed soldiers flogging policemen and maltreatment of civilians was unacceptable, adding that the last report they got could tarnish the image of the force.
Dike warned that no matter how successful they are in the mission, it would amount to nothing without discipline and wondered how they expect cooperation from a people they maltreat.
They told the task force that the image of the forcewas being dented by their attitude and wondered howthey think that the people they maltreat would assistthem with information on where the criminals werehiding.
When asked what he intends to do with the suburbs andcreeks which were not covered, Yusuf who initially didnot want to speak, replied, �In the next few days weare going to cover those areas�, adding that they havenoted all the problems and were attending to them.�We are hoping that the situation in Port Harcourtwill return to normalcy. What ever situation that youcomplain about is being taken care of, that is why weare with the Commander here and in the next few dayswe would have covered those areas.�Even if the Governor asks us to go away today, wewill take our boys from the streets, he is the ChiefSecurity Officer of the State and anytime he feels thesituation has returned to normal for us to leave, wewill leave�, he assured.
A miffed Yusuf wondered why the soldiers rather workin harmony with the civilians, pointing that thesoldiers were invited to quell the disturbances butregretted that they were causing more problems for thepeople which were not going to be tolerated.To prove his dislike for the maltreatment ofcivilians, he said that next time he was going tovisit the State; he would go to the people to sampleopinions on how they were being treated.Yusuf further warned against asking people to holdtheir hands above their heads while passing the checkpoints and reminded the soldiers that there was notwar in the State and that they were working forNigerians who have equal rights with them.
�We are to protect the territorial integrity of thecountry and for the civilians to enjoy. You shouldknow that we are passing through a reformation andthat means changing things. The era of army beatingpolice and police beating, police beating Immigrationand immigration beating customs is over. �Every one of you must conform to the laid down rulesgoverning your duties. If you are one of those whofeel you are bigger than your uniform, then you are onyour way out of the force. Why ask Nigerians who youare sent to protect to hands up? Anyone caught doingwhat is not in accordance with the rules andregulations of the forces will be punished.�If you catch anybody, hand him over to the police whowill determine whether to prosecute or not. I don�twant to hear of the army or the Air force holdinganybody in their guard room. You are here to help thepeople, not to compound their problem�, he fumed.
He thereafter announced that they were proceeding toWarri, Delta State in an apparent move to cover theentire Niger Delta in the new policy of securing theentire region.
Sep72007