Military authorities at the Jaji Military Cantonment in Kaduna State have dismissed as false reports of the demolition of civilian properties located within areas under the cantonment.
They also announced the dismantling of drug cartels and arrest of suspected dealers operating in communities within areas under the cantonment who were handed over to the NDLEA for further action.
Captain Olusegun Abidoye, Acting Deputy Director, Army Public Relations, Infantry Corps Centre, said this when he took newsmen to areas where some online platforms had falsely reported that civilian properties had been demolished.
Abidoye, who spoke on behalf of the cantonment, said the authorities were highly concerned about the exponential rise in social vices, particularly drug trafficking and substance abuse in the communities.
He said, “These include Railway settlement, Unguwan Loya, Unguwan Aboki, Unguwan Alhaji and Unguwan Alasan among other hamlets.
“These communities, while offering informal support services to the cantonment, also pose significant security and social risks.
“Some of the areas occupied by these settlements overlap with areas earmarked as training areas thereby exposing both the residents and personnel to physical danger during field exercises involving live ammunition.”
Abidoye said intelligence reports and internal assessments had highlighted the presence of organised drug cartels operating from within the settlements.
According to him, this is contributing to a disturbing increase in substance abuse cases among both the children of soldiers living within the cantonment and civilians.
He said that the military authorities had to conduct an investigation and field surveillance, during which they confirmed the existence of extensive drug networks, particularly within Railway settlement and Unguwan Loya.
Abidoye said, ‘These cartels are reportedly operated by over 15 identified individuals involved in the trafficking, sale, and distribution of illegal drugs within and outside the cantonment.
“Some of the common substances trafficked include Indian hemp, skunk, Exol, ice (Crystal meth), crack cocaine, tramadol, and other psychotropic drugs.”
He, therefore, said that the arrest of some members of the cartels was to stem the disturbing rise in drug abuse in the area.
On the alleged demolition of some civilian properties as reported by some online media platforms,he said the claim was bereft of truth and an attempt to “spite the image of the military as no such exercise was conducted by the cantonment.
Abidoye explained that the disputed land was currently the subject of litigation, and the cantonment had been obeying the Court order to maintain the status quo.
He alleged that it was the plaintiffs who violated the court order by constructing new buildings and allowing a construction company to excavate laterite from the disputed land.
Abidoye said that the cantonment had to file an interlocutory injunction to restrain the plaintiffs and the construction company from further excavating or mining laterite from the land pending the conclusion of the court case.
The spokesman also explained that the cantonment relocated some businesses to a centralised market to ensure proper surveillance and enhance security.
Regarding the alleged disconnection of electricity to communities within the cantonment, Abidoye stated that the military has no involvement in it.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Jaji Military Cantonment serves as a critical hub for the Nigerian Armed Forces, housing various prestigious institutions.
They include the Armed Forces Command and Staff College, Headquarters, Infantry Corps Centre, Martin Luther Agwai International Leadership and Peacekeeping Centre, the Warrant Officers’ Academy and the Nigerian Army School of Infantry.
The cantonment also hosts key operational units, including the 4 Demonstration and 601 Aviation Battalions.
Abidoye said that the communities were refusing to vacate the cantonment because they used it as cover to indulge in illegal businesses and other criminal activities.
“The cantonment will continue to protect all law abiding citizens within and around it, “Abidoye said.
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