BEVERLY HILLS, September 30, (THEWILL) – The Nigerian Army has recovered the vehicle of a missing military general inside a pond in Jos South Local Government Area of Plateau State.
The Commander of the 3 Division of the Nigerian army and leader of the search and rescue mission, Brigadier-General Umar Mohammed, said following a preliminary investigation, the vehicle of the missing officer was reportedly seen close to the pond.
Consequently, when drained, the pond, where the car of missing Major General Idris Alkali was found on Saturday, contained other shocking secrets: four other cars were also found inside it.
“This pond contains a lot of hidden secrets. There are four more cars that we have discovered to be inside for now. We are determined to unveil all the secrets in it,” said Major General Augustine Agundu, Commander Special Task Force.
Alkali’s car registered as MUN-670-AA Kwara State, was pulled out of the pond at about 7 p.m, with the combined effort of NEMA, the Fire Service and local divers.
Alkali, former Chief of Administration Nigerian Army was declared missing since Sept. 3.
The retired general was said to have been travelling from Abuja to Bauchi in a black Corolla vehicle on September 3 before he went missing.
Agundu explained that the missing general was caught up in a fracas at Dura-Du on Aug. 2, when irate youths blocked roads and attacked travellers following an attack in the community on Sept. 2 where 13 persons were killed.
“We started this search on Sept. 22 when we were ordered by the Chief of Army staff to find the missing general.
“We recall that on Sept. 2, the Du District was attacked by armed bandits where 13 were killed and others sustained injuries.
“The general who just left service after 35 years was travelling to Bauchi and he drove himself having left service. Unfortunately he ran into the irate youths who blocked the road.
“We got information about his movement and swung into action to find him. We got intelligence report and convinced ourselves that this pond was where he was dumped.
“There are about 32 abandoned mining sites in this community but to single this one out, you must know a lot of intelligence gathering was done.
“On the first day of operations, some organised women resisted our operations claiming the pond was their source of drinking water and ancestral water but they were all lies.
The GOC, 53rd Army Division, Maj. Gen. Benson Akinroluyo while confirming the discovery said that the car belonged to the missing general. He said Alkali’s body has not been found.
Akinroluyo said that the search for the body will continue immediately and advised members of the community to go about their lawful duties. He stressed that the army will not intimidate them on the findings.
“The vehicle is indeed that of missing Major General Alkali. We have not seen the body but the plate number on the car is his own.
“The Army T-Shirt found has his name tag on it. So I can confidently confirm all these we have found here belongs to him.
“The army is a professional body which carries out its operation according to best practices and human rights. We will not arrest anyone not involved.
“Our intelligence pinpointed where his vehicle was pushed to. So you will know that we have credible intelligence on who and who is involved and we will get them arrested,” he said.
