By CHARLES IWUOHA

Gov. Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu State, on Wednesday commended President Muhammadu Buhari for his unrelenting commitment to security of lives and property of all Nigerians despite obvious challenges.

Ugwuanyi gave the commendation in Enugu while flagging off Exercise Golden Dawn 2, being a training exercise hosted by the Nigerian Army under the Area of Responsibility (AOR) of the 82 Division of the Nigerian Army, Enugu.

“In spite the numerous challenges, President Buhari has been relentless in tackling security challenges in the country and ensure the safety of lives and property.

“I must also commend him as the Commander-in-Chief for approving this training exercise meant to checkmate crime and criminality in its entirety,” the governor, represented by the Secretary to the State Government, Prof. Simon Ortuanya, said.

He said that the training exercise was coming at a better time, since during yuletide most times crime rate is on the increase.

Ugwuanyi also appreciated the Nigerian Army, the Chief of Army Staff, Lt.-Gen. Faruk Yahaya and the General Officer Commanding (GOC) 82 Division for hosting the exercise.

The governor assured the Nigerian Army of his administration’s commitment to internal security operations to stem criminality, adding: “We want to assure you of our commitment to partner with the Nigerian Army in this regard”.

Earlier, the GOC 82 Division, Maj.-Gen. Umar Musa, said that Exercise Golden Dawn 2 was in line with the Nigerian Army training directive for the year 2022 and it would involve troops, units and formations of the Division.

Musa, who said that the exercise would run from Oct. 14 to Jan. 3, 2023, noted that it would be conducted alongside sister services, para-military and other security agencies within South-East and other areas of the Division’s AOR.

He said: “The exercise, aimed at checkmating crime such as cultism, kidnapping, armed robbery, and other sundry criminality within the South-East, is geared at protecting lives and property during and after the yuletide season.

“It is also meant to enhancing troops’ level of professionalism and preparedness in curbing security challenges within the Division’s AOR.

“The exercise will involve the assessment of the effective application of the Nigerian Army Code of Conduct as well as adherence to Rules of Engagement (ROE) in line with international best practices and Civil Military Cooperation (CIMIC).”

The GOC solicited the understanding and cooperation of law abiding citizens and advised them to go about their lawful businesses during the period of the exercise.

He charged the troops for the exercise to ensure utmost professionalism by protecting human rights of law abiding citizens as well as stick to the rules of engagement and rules guiding use of social media/ICT.