Officers of the Special Task Force are currently trying to unravel the motive for the movement of some youths from Maiduguri heading to Abuja at about 3am when they were accosted in Plateau State on Wednesday.
Numbering about 51, the youths were under the guidance of a lady as they were being conveyed in 3 eighteen-seat mass transit buses when they were intercepted along Babale in Plateau State as they journeyed from Maiduguri to Abuja in the night.
During the interrogation that followed, they claimed they were being conveyed to Abuja on the directives of a Borno State Government official to meet their relatives for assistance in an economic empowerment programme. The official is yet to respond to efforts to verify the claims.
The issue is being investigated to ascertain the genuine mission of the travellers, and the reason they chose to make the journey in the night. Another source of concern was the contradictory statements regarding the sponsorship of their mission to Abuja. The movement is being assessed in the light of the security situation and the suspicious claims of the youths.
Meanwhile, Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lt.-Gen. Kenneth Minimah, has reaffirmed his commitment to improve the welfare of Nigerian Army personnel.
A statement issued by Col. Rabe Abubakar, Executive Director, Corporate Affairs, Nigerian Army Welfare Limited and Guarantee, said Minimah made this known during the second quarter of the Nigerian Army Welfare Insurance Scheme (NAWIS) Board of Directors (BOD) meeting, held at the Headquarters of 82 Division Nigerian Army, Enugu.
Represented by the Group Managing Director (GMD) of the Nigerian Army Welfare Limited and Guarantee, Maj.-Gen. Bitrus Kwaji, COAS emphasised that welfare and training were the motivating factors for any military force.
Kwaji, who is also the Chairman of Nigerian Army Welfare Insurance (NAWIS), said that the army would continue to provide the best welfare for its officers and men to achieve the desired vision and mission of the COAS.
“It has become necessary for us to meet on quarterly basis because of the direct involvement of NAWIS in the operation currently ongoing on in the North East. This has made it imperative to review the operations and activities of NAWIS regularly to meet service needs of our officers and men,” Kwaji said.
“NAWIS is involved directly because we have to make payments immediately to the families of deceased service personnel that unfortunately have been victims of the ongoing operation against the terrorists.”
He urged the members to come up with more proactive measures in order to re-strategies to meet the challenges. He also advised the members to be open-minded while deliberating at the conference.
Earlier, the Managing Director of the NAWIS, Col. Samson Jiya, had informed the conference that the agency had worked assiduously to improve the existing welfare services in the Army.
Jiya had said that the welfare included the reduction of the suffering of officers, soldiers and their dependants in the events of sudden death, those killed in action, retirement and permanent disabilities.
He had said the welfare also served as a motivating factor for services personnel in the discharge of their duties, especially those serving in the operation in the North East against the terrorists.
“He further stated that the agency has achieved tremendous success in line with its established mandate. He pointed out that some challenges ranging from incomplete documents, and improper documentation of personnel normally became a problem in processing benefits of affected personnel,” Jiya had said.
“The NAWIS boss appealed to the members to always assist the scheme in carrying out its duties.”
