COAS rewards 7 army officers, 5 soldiers for acts of valour

The Chief of Army Staff, Maj. Gen. Taoreed Lagbaja, has rewarded seven officers and five soldiers for various acts of valour.

Lagbaja rewarded the officers with medals and special commendation letters at this year’s Army Day Celebration in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital.

Among those recognised and honoured was Brig. Gen. Everest Ifeanyi Okoro of the Infantry Corps, who is the Commander, 13 Brigade Nigerian Army, Calabar.

Okoro was honoured for being “a very proactive senior officer, who conducted several operations to curb the occasional flow of the activities of Ambazonian rebels from the Republic of Cameroon.”

The rebels had, hitherto, threatened the territorial integrity of Nigeria.

He equally prevented the incursion of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) secessionist group into his area of responsibility.

According to his citation, Okoro’s dynamic and bold actions led to discovering and destroying the IPOB training camp in Cross River State.

He also conducted operations that led to the interception of a large cache of explosive materials and ammunition in Amana in Northern Cross Rivers during the 2023 general elections.

“Gen. Okoro also accurately predicted the dynamics of the political landscape of the state in the leading up to the elections.

“He understood that it had a high propensity and potential for political violence, and consequently took necessary measures to prevent the breakdown of law and order.

“He planned and conducted many precursor operations that led to the arrest of many political thugs and recovery of dangerous weapons and ammunition that were to be used to disrupt the 2023 elections in his area of responsibility,” he said.