allAfrica.com * GOC, Officials in Akure to Pay Striking Soldiers Vanguard (Lagos) NEWS 8 July 2008 Posted to the web 8 July 2008 By Dayo Johnson Ondo PAYMASTERS from the Army Headquarters arrived Akure, the Ondo State capital yesterday to commence payment of entitlements to last week's rampaging soldiers who returned recently from a peace keeping operation in Liberia. Also, the General Officer Commanding (GOC), 2 Mechanised Division, Maj. Gen. Bello Danbazau, the Brigade Commander, 32 Artillery Brigade, Abeokuta, arrived Akure on Sunday with other top army officers to inquire into the grievances of the rampaging soldiers with a view to avoiding a recurrence. Although reports had it that the top military officers were in the state to court marshal the soldiers, a source said they came because of the security implication of the action of the soldiers. Efforts to speak with the Commanding Officer, Lt. Col. Gabriel Umelo, yesterday proved abortive as stern-looking soldiers turned back journalists who trooped to the 323 Artillery Regiment for development on the soldiers' allowances. Mum was the word from those interviewed on the matter as reporters were told that all enquiries should be directed to the Army spokesman. But a dependable source said the paymasters came to pay the entitlements of the soldiers. A source told newsmen that "The GOC has finished his assignment. They have all returned to their base. They left this morning. They picked some of the soldiers and I won't say more than this." Meanwhile, normalcy has returned to the barracks and the Akure metropolis as it was business as usual after the stampede and confusion that enveloped the state following the violent protest of the soldiers. It would be recalled that no fewer than 500 soldiers from the Regiment went on the rampage in Akure last week protesting unpaid entitlements. In the process they disrupted the peace and tranquility in the metropolis. Commercial and business activities were paralysed for hours as the soldiers marched through the streets singing war songs while they made bonfires on the roads. Several people were injured as a result of the stampede when residents took to their heels to avoid accidental discharge and from being crushed by the aggrieved soldiers. Efforts by the Commanding Officer, Col. Gabriel Umelo, to pacify the aggrieved soldiers were rebuffed. According to military officers who spoke with newsmen said that "NIBATT 14, (72 battalion Markurdi), left the shores on Nigeria on August 4 last year and returned to the country on February 27 while NIBATT 15, the 323 artillery brigade in Akure's last batch returned on April 23. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Copyright © 2008 Vanguard. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Quantcast