The team of the Nigerian Army on Search and Rescue Operations for Maj. Gen. Idris Alkali (retd.) has recovered a Toyota Hiace from the mining pond in Dura-Du area of Jos South Local of Area of Plateau State.
The white-coloured Toyota Hiace, with number plate Plateau RYM-307-XA, was recovered on Tuesday during the ongoing evacuation of water in the pond.
Both the car owner and the car were reportedly declared missing for the past three months.
Another car was said to have been pulled out of the pond later.
A former Chief of Administration at the Nigerian Army Headquarters, Alkali, had retired a few weeks before he was declared missing on Monday, September 3, 2018, a day after some gunmen attacked Dura-Du and killed 13 persons.
The Commander of the Special Military Taskforce, Operation Safe Haven, Maj. Gen. Augustine Agundu, confirmed the recovery of the vehicles in an interview with journalists at the pond.
“The local divers have confirmed that three more cars are inside the pond, and we are going to be removing them one after the other,” he said.
The General Officer Commanding 3 Division of the Nigerian Army, Maj. Gen. Benson Akinroluyo, said technical glitches were some of the challenges recorded in the exercise.
He said, “We are now getting cooperation from the community. There is no point for the community to panic; we have been directed to bring the missing officer live or dead, and that is a task we must do. As I earlier on said, the community should provide us with useful information.”
The PUNCH reported that the S & R team had last week recovered a black Toyota Corolla with Kwara State registration number, MUN-670-AA, and confirmed by Akinroluyo that it belonged to Alkali.