Borno attack: Many soldiers missing as death toll rises

Four days after Boko Haram terrorists overran a military base in Damboa Local Government Area of Borno State, many soldiers are still unaccounted for, credible security sources have revealed. Fighters, in their large numbers, carried out the attack around 4pm on Saturday at the Forward Operating Base, Sabon Gari area. The military in Maiduguri and […]

Four days after Boko Haram terrorists overran a military base in Damboa Local Government Area of Borno State, many soldiers are still unaccounted for, credible security sources have revealed.

Fighters, in their large numbers, carried out the attack around 4pm on Saturday at the Forward Operating Base, Sabon Gari area.

The military in Maiduguri and Abuja and the Borno State government have not said anything on the incident yet.

But sources within the military told our correspondent yesterday that the casualty figure has continued to rise as more bodies are being recovered by the military search team.

“More bodies are being recovered, some died on their way to hospital in Maiduguri, while many soldiers and vigilantes are unaccounted for, missing in action (MIA).

“It’s too early to tell how many people we have lost because we are still counting. I cannot tell you the exact number of the

soldiers and vigilantes or the identity of the officers killed, but we have recovered over 12 dead bodies,” said the source.

Another credible military source said: “The attack was on Forward Operations Base of 25TF Brigade located in Sabon Gari, Damboa LGA. The base is responsible for securing southern Damboa, especially curtailing the activities of Boko Haram/ISWAP from Yobe to Chibok and Gwoza axis.

“They were completely dislodged, and their equipment carted away and some damaged. A reinforcement from the main 25TF Brigade along with CJTF were sent from Damboa but were blocked by IEDs (Improvised Explosive Devices) planted by the terrorists.

“Therefore, many CJTF were injured and some killed in the ambush. However, by the time the reinforcement got to Sabon Gari, the Boko Haram fighters had abandoned the location, carting away equipment.  So many soldiers missing (unaccounted) and others killed, details are still being confirmed.

“The FOB (Forward Operating Base) has strength of 110 soldiers but only about half have so far been accounted for.

“Two weeks ago, a neighbouring Base in Wajiroko was attacked by the ISWAP fighters using modified commercial drones for the first time in the over   a decade long crises. This indicates sophistication and bigger plans,” the source said.

Daily Trust recalled that after the December 24, 2024 attack which left at least six soldiers injured, the spokesman for Defence Headquarters, Brig Gen Tukur Gusau, had during a media briefing in Abuja, described the onslaught as harassment, saying it was not qualified to be called an attack.

He said the drones used by terrorists in the bombardment of the Nigerian military base were “toy drones.”

 

Scenes from latest attack

In a nearly 45-second-long footage from the Saturday’s attack on the military formation in Borno made available to Daily Trust, lifeless bodies of seven soldiers were seen covered with blankets on a bare floor of the razed base buildings.

According to a security source, all the corpses recovered have been conveyed by the military contingent to Maiduguri.

Another security source said the attack was well-coordinated as it threw the troops off balance.

“They (insurgents) destroyed the Burum Bridge that is linking Biu to Sabon Gari and cut off chances for reinforcement from different places before they struck.

“They engaged our people for good two hours before they overpowered them, ransacked the base, carted away all the weapons and burnt down our operational vehicles including the MRAP (Mine-Resistant Ambush Protected).

“Also, there is a heightened fear that some of the soldiers that are missing in action were abducted by the terrorists,” he said.

He said the insurgents used surveillance drones from their hideout in Mandara Gau, a distance of about 25 kilometres to Biu Local Government Area, before they struck.

Some other sources also confirmed that the insurgents used surveillance drones to scan their location before the attack.

One of the sources said in the last two weeks, Boko Haram terrorists had been using drones for surveillance in Chibok and Damboa, and Budi Yadi in Yobe State.

 

Military mum

Efforts to get official figures regarding the number of casualties from the military last night were futile.

Calls to the mobile phone of the Director, Defence Media Operations, Edward Buba, a Major-General, ranged out.

He was yet to reply to the WhatsApp and text messages sent to him as at when filing this report last night.

 

‘Terrorists fleeing Chad onslaught regroup in Sambisa’

A local source, who simply identified himself as Adamu, said most of the terrorists that carried out the recent attacks were dislodged by the joint military operations in the Lake Chad.

“When the onslaught became unbearable to the terrorists in the Lake Chad, most of them escaped and joined the terrorists here, loyal to the late Abubakar Shekau. It’s these people terrorizing us now,” he said.

Months back, Chadian troops had entered the Lake Chad area, avenging the killing of over 40 soldiers by terrorists.

Also, President Mahmat Deby had stationed at least two thousand troops currently involved in ongoing operations in the Lake Chad general area, including on Nigerian soil.

The over a decade-long Boko Haram conflict, which has spread to the neighbouring Niger, Chad and Cameroon, has killed tens of thousands of people and forced millions from their homes.