The Special Military Task Force (STF) in Jos, in conjunction with Civil-Military Relief Initiative (CMRI) has treated residents of Mahanga in Riyom Local Government of Plateau in a free medical outreach and urged them to keep working for peace.
The STF, known as Operation Safe Haven (OPSH), is in charge of security in Plateau and some parts of Kaduna and Bauchi states.
The residents apart from being treated of different ailment, were also given relief materials including food items, toiletries and other assorted items.
Maj Gen. Augustine Agundu, OPSH Commander, said the medical outreach was part of the Civil-Military Cooperation (CIMIC) activities of the Operation to promote peace and peaceful coexistence.
Agundu, who was represented by Brig.-Gen. Mohammed Bello, the Chief of Staff, said that CIMIC was aimed at improving the well-being of the host communities across the OPSH joint operational areas.
While acknowledging the commitment of the community in collaborating with the Operation for many years to achieve the desired goal, Agundu
Major-General Agundu said the essence of the medical outreach was to reinstate the STF’s efforts to restoring confidence, peace and unity among residents of the area, noting that “similar exercises have been conducted in other crisis ridden area in the state.”
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The commander added that the activities was an initiative of the Defence Headquarters-led operation, noting that the idea was to support communities that have been supporting the peace process.
“We had held such outreaches in Kakruk, Gashish, Wase all in Plateau and Jagindi in Southern Kaduna.
“We will continue to support communities that have accepted and are working for peace in Plateau,” he said.
The Mahanga community in Riyom Local Government Area of Plateau State in their response vowed to provide security agencies in the state with necessary intelligences to end insecurity within the area.
The leader of the community, Ardo Idris Gidado who made the pledge during the medical outreach to the remote community which houses Fulani and Berom ethnic groups regretted that they experienced series of communal crisis with many people reportedly killed in the past
The community leader noted the string of efforts being made by the OPSH to finding lasting solutions to the crisis that had rocked the state since 2001 have helped a lot in achieving relative peace in many areas.
Gidado said “OPSH is not bias and therefore the community will do all it could to provide it with vital information that will help track down criminal elements within and outside the community’.
Also, Mr Ibrahim Yusuf, a Youth Leader in the area, commended OPSH for bringing succour to their doorstep.
Yusuf said that with the intervention of OPSH, the community had overcome its prolonged security challenges.
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