FG To Deploy 10,000 Troops To Niger Delta –Buratai

Nigeria’s Chief of Army Staff,  Lt.  Gen. Tukur Buratai disclosed during a courtesy visit to the Bayelsa State government house yesterday, the intention of the Buhari Administration to deploy 10,000 troops to the Niger Delta by 2017.

The COAS who said his visit was part of the Operation Crocodile Smile activities in the region also disclosed that the Army has deployed about 3,000 officers and men, as well as equipment for the exercise and that the number of personnel will be increased to 10,000 by next year.

Buratai who assured citizens in the Niger Delta region that the exercise was designed to protect them also advised the communities to remain calm as his soldiers who were properly briefed, would follow the rules of engagement. He also added that the training was meant to prepare the officers for marine warfare “because the state is largely riverine and borders the Atlantic ocean and therefore prone to external aggression.”

The Bayelsa State governor, Seriake Dickson who offered his condolences to the Army on the loss of soldiers who died in a boat accident, also praised the military for their bravery. He however advised the Federal Government to employ dialogue as a means of crippling criminality in the Niger Delta.