MISSING GENERAL: Jos residents cry out over intimidation, arbitrary arrests by soldiers

Residents of Du District in Jos South Local Government Area have cried out over what they called intimidation and arbitrary arrests by Nigerian soldiers searching for the missing General, Idris Alkali.

In a similar vein, the Nigeria Union of Journalists, NUJ, has also threatened to boycott the activities of the military if the intimidation and arrests continue over the arrest and detention of a journalist, Mr. Friday Olokor.

According to reports, one of those arrested is a pregnant woman, Noroh Dung, whose expected day of delivery, EDD, had passed, but is still being held by the Army.

Speaking on the arrests, a nursing mother, Mrs. Julcit Barde, who is nursing a seven-month-old baby, cried out on Sunday over the arrest and detention of her husband by the Army for the past one week.

Mrs. Barde told journalists in Jos on Monday: “A Major approached my husband to give out our property that is near the pond to the soldiers, so that while they carry out their operation they could stay there.

“Since we are not yet occupying the property, my husband obliged them and the soldiers occupied it. But as they evacuated the water from the pond, the water flooded the environment so much that a part of our building collapsed. This prompted my husband to approach the military for compensation.”

According to her, while her husband complained, a General who visited the operation site simply said: “Military don’t pay compensation. The Army General ordered my husband’s arrest, saying he should know something about the pond and the missing General. They claimed he was being taken away to help the military with investigation.

“Since his arrest, I have not seen my husband for over a week; his phones have been switched off and possibly seized from him. My children cry every day, asking for their father; I have had sleepless nights thinking of the whereabouts of my husband and what must be happening to him.”

Mrs Barde appealed to President Muhammadu Buhari, the Chief of Army Staff, Lt General Tukur Buratai and the public to intervene for the unconditional release of her husband, asking if it was a crime for her husband to render help to the Nigerian Army.

“As we speak, they are still occupying our property,” she added.

Read also: Couple, three others caught with human parts in Ilorin

Detailing his ordeal in the hands of soldiers, the detained journalist, Friday Olokor said he was held for 28 hours despite identifying himself as a journalist.

In its reaction, the Plateau State chapter of the NUJ, in a statement signed by Paul Jatau and Peter Amine, Chairman and Secretary, respectively, said: “The arbitrary harassment, intimidation and arrest of members of the public as part of their search is a thing of worry to NUJ.

“We are perturbed because innocent people are not spared by the crude method they have employed, thereby instilling fear and overheating the polity. The Army, on Saturday, in a statement, assured the public that they will exhibit high level of professionalism according to international standard in the search, but what is on display contradicts their assurances.

“The same Saturday, a member of our union, was arrested alongside other persons by the Army and was detained for 28 hours in Rukuba Barracks as part of the search. We wish to state unequivocally that while journalists support the search for the missing senior officer, indeed the NUJ, Plateau State Council, will not hesitate in withdrawing its members from covering their activities if the intimidation and harassment continue.”

 

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