Troops of the newly-launched exercise in the south-east codenamed ‘Golden Dawn’ by the Nigerian Army have killed three gunmen who allegedly attacked a police checkpoint along Okija-Onitsha expressway in Anambra state.
On October 3, the exercise was launched alongside ‘Enduring Peace’ and ‘Still Water’ — military operations for the south-west and the south-south of the country.The army had said the exercises were launched to curb criminality as the yuletide approaches.In a statement issued on Saturday, Onyema Nwachukwu, army spokesperson, said the sector 5 of ‘Golden Dawn’ on October 7 engaged the gunmen in a gun-duel, losing a policeman in the course of duty.
”The 3 gunmen, who drove in 2 Vehicles (a Hilux and Hummer bus), eventually succumbed to troops’ effective firepower, while others fled with gunshot wounds,” he said.”The exercise also recovered one vehicle and 2 motorcycles, while conducting further exploitation of the general area for the fleeing terrorists.”Faruk Yahaya, chief of army staff, commended the troops for the operation and asked them to sustain the momentum against all criminal elements operating in the region.
