Boko Haram has overrun a Nigeria Army base in the remote north-east barely twenty-four hours after attacking Nigerian troops in an ambush during a failed assault mission. Nigerian Troops suffered heavy casualties in that operation while the insurgents carted away military equipment.
https://www.herald.ng/boko-haram-ambush-nigerian-soldiers-kill-scores-cart-away-equipment/
The militants had invaded a base that held more than 700 soldiers in the remote part of Yobe State near Dapchi where 100 school girls had been abducted earlier in the year;the onslaught lasted for more than an hour.
Boko Haram fighters swarmed on the troops of the 81st Division Forward Brigade at Jilli Village in Geidam in huge numbers at about 7:30pm and overran the base after fierce fighting that lasted till 9:30pm.
Only about a hundred soldiers including the base commander have made it back to the base after the assault out of a total of 734 troops that had been stationed there. According to the base commander…
“We don’t know if there are any casualties among the troops, that will be known later”…
He further disclosed that most of the troops stationed there had just been posted from Lagos.
A local militia leader confirmed the attack and blamed the Abu Mus’ab Al- Barnawi faction of Boko Haram for the attack as they are known for targeting the Nigerian military; he however was unable to confirm the number of casualties sustained by the Nigerian Army.
”We learned they drove from Lake Chad through Gubio (Borno State) and attacked the base” he said.
These latest attacks have highlighted the real situation on ground in the insurgency ravaged North-east despite claims by President Buhari that the country is in a “post-conflict stabilisation phase”.
A resident of Geidam also confirmed the attack saying “We don’t know the details of what happened but we learnt they were over-whelmed by hundreds of Boko Haram gunmen”
Nigerian army Spokesman, Texas Chukwu however, denied knowledge of the incident stating that he had not been informed. “I am not aware of the attack because I have not received any information from there” he said.
The latest sophisticated attacks indeed highlight the continued existence and ever present threat of Boko Haram an ally of Islamic State in North-east Nigeria.