Nigerian Army troops have arrested suspected cultists and drug peddlers operating within and around the Jaji Military Cantonment.
The suspects were arrested during a successful joint raid operation at their hideouts conducted between the late hours of first August to the early hours of second August this year.
Parading the suspects before newsmen, the acting deputy director, Army Public Relations of the Infantry Corps Centre, Captain Olusegun Abidoye explained that over the years, informal and unauthorized civilian settlements have developed within the Jaji Military Cantonment.
He identified the settlements to include Anguwan loya, Anguwan Aboki, Anguwan Alhaji, Anguwan Alasan, railway settlement, among other hamlets.
The acting deputy director noted that while they provide informal support services, the settlements however pose significant security and social risks to the cantonment.
“Some of the areas occupied by the settlements overlap with areas earmarked as training areas, thereby exposing both residents and personnel to physical danger during field exercises involving live ammunitions”
Captain Olusegun Abidoye pointed out that unregulated civilian population and the influence of jobless youths have resulted in the exponential rise in social vices in the cantonment, describing it as worrisome.
He said their activities within the cantonment had exposed children of personnel to patronize them and further initiating them into various occultic confraternities.
During the operation, fourteen suspected cultists and twenty-eight drug peddlers, among whom were seventeen males and eleven females were arrested.
Some of the items recovered from the suspects included indian hemp, skunk, exol, crack cocaine, tramadol and other psychotropic substances.
The suspects were handed over to the NDLEA and other security agencies for further investigations and prosecution by the Cantonment Provost, Lt Col. Joseph Ayuba.
In a related development, the leadership of the Jaji Military Cantonment have debunked an unsubstantiated online media reports alleging the demolition of markets and disconnection of power supply in the settlements.
Conducting newsmen round the settlements, Captain Olusegun Abidoye clarified that the cantonment leadership established a centralized market popularly known as ‘Mami’ to ensure that every transaction is monitored, while the cantonment power supply was separated from that of the settlements on the recommendation of the PHCN, when it was observed that the cantonment transformer developed incessant faults occasioned by the use of industrial equipment by occupants of the settlements.
On fencing the Cantonment, Captain Abidoye stressed that the fencing became imperative to prevent intruders with ulterior motives from gaining access into the cantonment, adding that the main entrance is the only acceptable entry point, where visitor’s, including personnel and their families are subjected to security checks.
“The members of these communities prefer to use the backdoor, so that they smuggle drugs into the cantonment. We will not allow it”
Captain Abidoye re-iterated the commitment of the Nigerian Army to protecting the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Nigeria, while also assuring law-abiding citizens of adequate protection.
He also appealed to the media to remain fair, objective and patriotic in their reportage.
Cov/Usman Sani.
