Joint Task Force, codenamed Operation Pulo Shield, has declared Azuzuama and its suburbs in Southern Ijaw Local Government of Bayelsa State, den of criminals.The Media Coordinator, JTF, Lt. Col. Onyema Nwachukwu, while briefing reporters on the task force operations on Tuesday, said the development had forced the security outfit to establish a base in the community.
He said kidnappers, pirates and militants operated conveniently in Azuzuama and its environs because of their difficult terrains.
He added that criminals from Edo, Delta and other states, including foreigners, were using the area to unleash terror on the region.
He said, “The place is a safe haven for criminals. Criminals from outside the country even have hideouts in Azuzuama and that is why we are maintaining military presence in the area. The community needs to help us.
“The deployment in Azuzuama is robust and comprises all components of the JTF for operational effectiveness. The troops are fully on the ground and their impact is already being felt given the general atmosphere of calm and security that prevails in the area.”
Describing the killing of the 12 police officers in the community by gunmen as strange, Nwachukwu said the incident triggered the ongoing military operation in the council.
He also noted that the JTF operatives had arrested two persons in connection with the recent killings of eight persons in Lobia.
Meanwhile, the military JTF in Rivers, on Tuesday said it had put in place new strategies to stop illegal bunkering, pipeline vandalism and sundry crimes in the state.
The Commander of the Army 2 Brigade and Sector Two of JTF, Brig.-Gen. Osasogie Uzamere, stated this at the Brigade’s 2013 annual range classification exercise in Igwuruta.
Uzamere said JTF had uncovered new techniques used by oil thieves to sabotage the nation’s economy and as such, renewed its tactics to ensure its proficiency to combat illegal bunkering.
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