The Nigerian Army has deployed 100 female soldiers of the 1 Women Special Operation Battalion to secure the Abuja-Kaduna highway.
The female officers have been drafted into the Operation Thunder Strike of the Nigerian Army which is currently carrying on a special operation on the Kaduna-Abuja general area.
While this is the first time female officers are being deployed for internal security operations, their role will be to complement the existing operations along the highway and the environs.
Governor Nasir El-Rufai who spoke at a ceremony to welcome the first batch of 100 female officers and handing over of their residential accommodation to the Nigerian Army in Kaduna state, expressed hope of deployment of more soldiers to the Abuja-Kaduna highway consolidating the successes recorded so far.
According to a tweet from the Kaduna state government handle, the all-female corps were deployed to complement security patrols on the Kaduna-Abuja expressway.
“KADUNA UPDATE: Malam Nasir @elrufai and @DrHadiza are welcoming a detachment of the Nigerian Army Women Corps that has been deployed to complement security patrols on the Kaduna-Abuja Expressway,” the tweet read.
The Abuja-Kaduna expressway has been highly unsafe lately as gunmen kidnap and sometimes kill travellers.