FLOOD: Operation Crocodile Smile III put smiles on faces of 5,929 victims

About 5,929 flood victims in Bayelsa and Delta recently benefited from food items and other relief materials donated by the Nigerian Army, a statement has said.

Col. Aminu Iliyasu, Deputy Director, Army Public Relations, 6 Division, Nigerian Army, Port Harcourt, disclosed this in a statement in Port Harcourt on Friday.

Iliyasu said that the army made the donation to give succour to the flood victims displaced from their homes in the two most affected states.

“On Oct. 31 and Nov. 2, 3,112 victims were presented with relief materials at Internally Displaced Persons camps at Igbogene, Yenagoa, Bayelsa and in Ogbe-Ijoh, Warri South-West, Delta, respectively.

“Similarly, on Oct. 25, no fewer than 2,817 victims at IDP camps in Community Primary School and St. John Parish, both in Igbogene, Yenagoa, also got received relief materials.

“Also on the same day, troops of Army 5th Battalion conducted a free Medical Outreach at Oporoma Community in Southern Ijaw Local Government Area of Bayelsa.

“The donation was made from Oct. 25 to Nov. 2 as part of our civil-military relation activities in the ongoing Operation Crocodile Smile III.”

He said that the donations came at the instance of the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lt.-Gen. Tukur Buratai.

Meanwhile, Iliyasu said that troops had arrested several alleged criminals since it launched Operation Crocodile Smile III in Bayelsa and Delta.

He said that troops, acting on intelligence, arrested a serial kidnapper and armed robbery suspect, who had been on the Nigeria Police Force wanted list.

“In another operation, troops of 16 Brigade, Yenagoa, on Nov. 6, located and destroyed four illegal bunkering camps, five ground reservoirs and 25 storage tanks laden with crude oil.

“Troops also foiled an attempt to sabotage oil production by miscreants who wanted to set fire to Riser 01, in Gbaraun, Southern Ijaw Local Government Areas of Bayelsa state.

“Similarly, troops of Sector One Joint Task Force, Operation Delta Safe, arrested two suspected drug peddlers along Asaba, Delta, with large quantities of suspected cannabis and other hard drugs,” he said.

Iliyasu said 15 wooden boats, five pumping machines, 17 rubber hoses, 30 iron pipes; two outboard engines were destroyed at Otumara and Ugboegugun in Warri, Delta.

The army spokesman said that troops would carry out more raids on criminal hideouts to ensure that legitimate businesses and peace thrived in the Niger Delta.