The Nigerian military has confirmed a series of coordinated attacks by insurgents on its bases in Borno State but has assured the public of its continued strength and determination to defeat the terrorists.
Militants from Boko Haram and ISWAP launched multiple assaults on Monday and Tuesday, targeting several military locations.
Speaking at a press briefing in Maiduguri on Tuesday, AE Abubakar, Theatre Commander of Operation Hadin Kai, acknowledged the attacks, noting that attempted strikes on Dikwa and Gajiram were successfully repelled.
He revealed that troops engaged the insurgents in a fierce battle in Rann, the headquarters of Kala Balge Local Government Area, where three military bases came under attack. Four soldiers were confirmed killed in the clash.
Abubakar said, “The terrorists have been degraded. There is little doubt that normalcy has greatly returned to the Northeast region, compared to where it was 5 to 10 years ago. In war, you have several campaigns, which are a series of coordinated operations aimed at achieving strategic objectives. So you will win some and lose some. What is most important is the statistics of what you win against what you lose.
“In the last week alone, over 20 terrorists have been neutralised and arms and ammunition recovered, even as we continue to conduct operations on multiple fronts as we speak. For now, most citizens have returned to their communities, and socioeconomic activities have returned. Malam Fatori and Kukawa are recent success stories where almost 20,000 IDPs have returned to their ancestral homes.
“However, what is happening in Nigeria is not unconnected to the situation in the greater Sahel region, where Barracks in neighbouring countries are being ransacked and weapons carted away. These weapons find their way down into Nigeria, due to our large and porous borders, thereby reenergising the fight.
“Two years ago, we were ready to say that the conflict was over, but the deterioration in security among Sahel States has also affected us. In spite of this progress, the terrorists have also adapted. This is possible due to the relative ease with which they can access technology.
“For instance, since November of last year, we noticed the introduction of the use of armed drones to carry out attacks. Like you would find in Israel or Ukraine, these drones are difficult to detect by conventional radar detection.
“In the last 2 months, we have been re-strategising and reorganising. The COAS was here just a week ago, and several changes have been made in theatre. I am one of such changes, having just taken over command 3 weeks ago. Additional platforms and personnel are being inducted into the theatre.
“What the terrorists have resorted to doing is carrying out multi-pronged attacks on several isolated and vulnerable deployments, and using it as propaganda, which is why we are also reviewing our deployments.
“Yesterday alone, there were attacks in Rann, Dikwa and Gajiram. All these attacks were defeated, apart from Rann, where they succeeded in penetrating to an extent, leading to the loss of 4 personnel.
“However, let me reassure you that the overall resolve of the Nigerian military is that we will completely defeat this terrorism and restore peace to the region once and for all, in the shortest possible time. We just need the support of the nation.”
