Missing General: Fire service joins Army in search and rescue

From Ron Jacob, Jos.
The Fire Service on Thursday joined the Nigerian Army in the search and rescue of a missing retired General in a pond located in Dura, Du District of Plateau State.
Maj. Gen. Idris Alkali, former Chief of Administration, Army Headquarters, Abuja, was declared missing on Sept. 3, 2018 by family members.
Consequently, the Nigerian Army 3rd Division, Rukuba Barracks, Jos and the Operation Save Haven (OPSH) began a search for the missing general whose whereabout still remains a mystery.
On September 20, the search was however narrowed to the said pond in Dura which has large quantity of water, a left over from mining activities from the colonial era.
The Army said it would drain the entire water to see whether the missing general accidentally drove into the pond, which is close to the road that leads to Bauchi.
The Army said it triangulate signals from his phone to the area.
Col Kayode Ogunsanya, Army Public Relations Officer, 3rd Division told newsmen in Jos that the Fire Service joined the search because of its expertise in such rescue missions.
According to him, the search for the General would not stop until he was found.
Recall that when the army first attempted to drain the water inside the pond, some 500 women of Dura village staged a demonstration against the move.
The women who spoke through their leader, one Mrs Mary, expressed their fear of the likely consequences of death in the village, claiming that the pond had some cultural attachment to their ancestors.
They alleged that they may lose their husbands, children and parents if the water in the pond was evacuated by the military personnel.
But the Army insisted on draining the pond. As it put it, “nothing shall stop us from draining the pond until we find the body of the missing general.’’
However, seven days after the draining of the pond, there is no sign of the corpse of the General or the car he was said to be travelling in.