Liberia is set to immortalize cops and soldiers of the Nigerian Army killed in peacekeeping operations during the country’s civil war.
The Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces of Liberia, Major General Prince Charles Johnson III, divulged this on Friday, during a courtesy call on Nigeria’s Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lieutenant General Faruk Yahaya, at the Army Headquarters in Abuja.
An announcement issued by the Director of Nigerian Army Public Relations, Brigadier General Onyema Nwachukwu, said Johnson communicated the appreciation of the Armed Forces of Liberia for the sacrifices provided by Nigerian troops to the people of Liberia, in reclaiming peace during the internal strive experienced in the country.
He eulogized the Nigerian Army for the technical assistance provided through the Economic Community of West Africa States (ECOWAS) backing team, which he said has piloted a new Armed Forces of Liberia.
Johnson called for more cooperation and bilateral relations between Nigeria and Liberia in the area of training.
Responding, Yahaya stated that the Nigerian Army will continue to influence the experiences gathered during peacekeeping operations in Liberia, in the discharge of its constitutional roles.
He guaranteed Johnson of continuous support, especially in the area of capacity development, adding that the Nigerian Army has a long-standing relationship with the Liberians and will proceed to extend the warm hands of alliance to the Armed Forces of Liberia.
Johnson also paid a courtesy visit to the Nigerian Chief of Defence Staff, General Lucky Irabor, and other Service Chiefs in Abuja where Johnson said that the Liberian military has refined plans to hold a memorial anniversary in honor of fallen heroes of the Nigerian Army, who combated during the Liberian civil war from 1989 until 1997.
Nigeria deployed over 5,000 of the 6,000 armies that made up ECOMOG during the first Liberian civil war. Between 1991 and 1993, when the ECOMOG standing troops rose to 12,000, Nigeria alone provided 10,000 soldiers.
