Military taskforce to use rubber bullets in Plateau skirmishes – OPSH boss

The Special Military Taskforce mandated to restore peace on the Plateau, some parts of Bauchi and Southern Kaduna, has introduced the use of rubber coated bullets in handling civil related violence especially when it involves women and children, says the Commander of the Force, Maj Gen. Augustine Agundu.

The taskforce also known as Operation Safe Haven (OPSH), will mostly use the Police Mopol personnel attached to force to carry out this task.

Speaking on Saturday in Jos, at the closing ceremony of an Inter Sector and Forward Operation Base (FOB) In-Theatre Combat Proficiency Competition, Gen. Agundu said the rubber bullet weapon will hence its combat in dealing with civil related violence.

However, Police Mopol personnel, during the in-theatre training competition used the occasion to demonstrate the proficiency of the weapon during skirmishes.

The competition which started last Monday amongst the various sectors of the OPSH units was to maintain the
tempo of combating crime and violence and further consolidate on the successes so far achieved in the last 14 months by restoring peace in the once troubled States of Plateau, Bauchi, and some parts of Southern Kaduna, the OPSH boss said.

According to Agundu, “the competition would also foster greater espirit-de-corps, improve the combat fitness of troops and most importantly dominate
all the identified trouble spots with series of military activities.

“It will also afford the command to bolster the important roles female personnel play in operations. The exercise was conducted in 3 locations where the Sect/FOB were grouped to compete amongst themselves. These include; Langtang North LGA held on 7 Oct, Barkin Ladi LGA held on 9 Oct and Bassa LGA 11 Oct 2019.

“It is in line with this initiative and also to conform with the Chief of Defence Staff
operational directives that the competition would provide the avenue
for the command to improve the troops”, he said.

However at the end of the competition, among over 20 women who participated in weapon handling, Lance Corporal Jemiamah Ezekiel emerged winner, while the headquarters of the OPSH emerged the overall winner in all the drills competed for, beating all other sectors with a total margin of 320.5 points.