The General Officer Commanding (GOC), 6 Division, Nigerian Army/Land Component Commander, Major General Jamal Abdussalam, has assured that troops conducting operations over the gruesome murder of officers and soldiers at Okuama Community in Ughelli South Local Government Area would be firm, strong, decisive and professional in the cause of the operations in the area.

He made this known when the Managing Director (MD)/Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), Samuel Ogbuku, paid him a condolence visit at the Division’s Headquarters in Port Harcourt Barracks, Rivers State, on Thursday.

Major General Abdussalam, while appreciating the MD and his team for the visit, said the mission handed to troops by the Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant General Taoreed Lagbaja, was basically to recover the weapons carted away by the perpetrators of this heinous crime and ensure that all those involved are arrested.

He added that troops will remain in the creeks until these objectives are achieved.

The GOC further reiterated that no amount of propaganda, arm-twisting, blackmailing, intimidation, and false narratives would distract troops from staying on course to achieve their objectives.

However, he assured that the operations would be conducted professionally, under the global best practice of adhering to rules of engagement and respecting the citizenry’s fundamental human rights.

He called on the people of the Niger Delta to go about their normal activities.

The GOC appealed to people and communities to assist troops regarding the location of the fleeing criminals and the carted-away weapons.

He averred that the Armed Forces of Nigeria are the symbol of sovereignty, stressing that the Commander-in-Chief, President Bola Tinubu, captured this clearly when he said an attack on the Armed Forces is an attack on the nation.

“Therefore, if we allow criminals to continue to attack our security forces, there will be anarchy,” he added.