By Joe Akwarandu
Operatives of the Nigerian Army of 14 Brigade Headquarters, Goodluck Ebele Jonathan Barracks, Ohafia, Ohafia local government area of Abia State on Monday carried a show of force within the Aba metropolis and its environs.
The soldiers who were drawn from various military units under the 144 Battalion situated at Ukwa West local government area of the state during the exercise that lasted for over two hours also dismantled Biafran flags hoisted within the commercial nerve of the state and its environs by members and loyalists of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB).
The soldiers who paraded round Aba with an Armoured Personnel Carrier (APC), Gun truck and patrol vans were spotted around Aba-Owerri road, Uratta, Port Harcourt road and among roads within Aba North and South, Osisioma and among other locations in Aba and its environs.
Sources within the 14 Brigade, Ohafia who spoke anonymously told our correspondent that the patrol was a confidence patrol in the face of the security challenges in the state aimed at building the confidence of the residents and visitors to the state and Aba in particular.
On dismantling of the Biafran flags by the personnel of the Nigerian army, the sources said that part of the mandate of the Nigerian army is to ensure that there was peace in the country and as such would ensure that no person or group of persons create tension or anarchy in the state, including members of the proscribed IPOB who are hosting their flags in the city center of Aba and its environs.
