Soldiers arrest 486 Northerners in Abia A group of 486 Nigerians travelling in 35 buses from the North to Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital, were held by the military in Abia State. The suspects were stopped at about 2.00a.m yesterday between Arungwa Junction on the Enugu, Port Harcourt Expressway and Imo Gate, the Abia/Rivers boundary. Their vehicles were halted but two of the buses slipped away. The men aged between 16 years and above, have been detained by the military at the 144 Battalion of Asa, near Aba, Abia State. Abia State Commissioner for Information Eze Chikamayo, accompanied by Commander of the 144 Battalion, Lt.-Col. Rasheed Omolori, paraded the suspects before reporters yesterday. Lt.-Col. Omolori, said a report had been sent to the army headquarters in Abuja. Col. Omolori however declined further comments on the arrest, saying any further information should be from his bosses at the Army headquarters. The commissioner said that the suspects were moving in a motorcade of 35 Toyota Haice buses [Hummer buses] when they were intercepted; adding that two buses escaped before they could be stopped. Chikamnayo further explained that preliminary investigations by the army showed that the suspects, aged from 16 years and above, were travelling from Kano, Taraba and Jigawa states. He said further investigation would help to unravel the true mission of the suspects who, he said, claimed to be travelling to Port Harcourt to look for jobs and wondered how such a large number of youths could be travelling in search of job. -The Nation
Posted on: Tue, 17 Jun 2014 05:33:48 +0000