Posted by By Philip Nwosu on
The Force Commander of the United Nations Mission in Liberia(UNMIL), Lieutenant General Joseph Owonibi has called on Nigerian soldiers serving under the UN force to stop contracting marriage and engaging in other sexual exploitation.
The Force Commander of the United Nations Mission in Liberia(UNMIL), Lieutenant General Joseph Owonibi has called on Nigerian soldiers serving under the UN force to stop contracting marriage and engaging in other sexual exploitation.
The Force Commander spoke against the backdrop of marriages with Liberian women by soldiers, warning the officers and soldiers that their mission in Liberia was to actualize the UN mandate and not to contract marriage.
General Owonibi also called on peacekeepers serving under his command to adhere strictly to the rules guiding the operations in that country.
He told the soldiers attached to the Nigerian contingent, NIBATT 6 UNMIL situated at the Mobil Quarters, Virginia, Monrovia, Liberia, that they should have at the back of their minds the selection process which brought them to the force, saying that they should remember that it was a mere privilege for some of them to be selected to represent the country.
He noted that this gesture made it imperative for them to be disciplined at all times, adding: 'whatever you do is a reflection of the Nigerian Army, Nigeria as a country and above all, the United Nations."
A statement from the Military Information Officer of UNMIL, Captain Linus Ogbu quoted the force commander as reminding the peacekeepers that their duty now in Liberia is crucial and critical for the realization of UNMIL mandate of restoring peace in the country.
On welfare of the troops, Gen. Owonibi implored the officers of NIBATT 6 to make the well-being of their men a command responsibility, because the United Nations placed much emphasis on the welfare of the peacekeepers.
He further told them that the Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant General Martin Lurther Agwai was highly impressed with their performance in Liberia.
Responding, the Commanding Officer, NIBATT 6, Lieutenant Colonel Mike James Onoja, promised the visiting Force Commander that his men would not abuse the confidence reposed in them by the government and people of Nigeria. He later presented a souvenir on behalf of officers and soldiers of NIBATT 6 to Lieutenant General Owonibi.
Present at the occasion were the Commander Sector 1, UNMIL, Brigadier General LN Yusuf, Colonel Mohammed Ataur Rahman, of UNMIL Headquarters, and Lieutenant Colonel Leo Irabor, among others.
Meanwhile, an attempt by two men to steal a car in Monrovia has been aborted by Nigerian soldiers attached to the UN force.
The car, a Toyota marked RC 3743 J and Chassis Number JTI GOEE 8000128845 was allegedly given to the suspects who were identified as Mr Timothy Toe, 28 and Ben Cooper 17 HIPPCO by Mr Varney Kamara for washing.
But when Kamara went back for the collection of his car it was nowhere to be found despite the fact that the ignition key was with him.
He subsequently alerted the Liberian National Police and UNMIL checkpoints about the incident. However, luck ran out on the two men when they were intercepted at checkpoint by men of NIBATT 6 UNMIL stationed at Bush Road Island, Monrovia.
The two suspects have been handed over to the Liberian National Police for further investigation and possible prosecution.