Troops, on Monday, subdued Boko Haram insurgents, who launched an attack on the convoy of the Theatre Commander, Operation Lafiya Dole, Major General Olusegun Adeniyi, in Auna, in the Kaga Local Government Area of Borno State.
The army said the insurgents were given a bloody nose as Adeniyi led his troops to overwhelm the criminals with superior firepower, forcing them to abandon their weapons.
A statement by the Nigerian Army Operations Media Coordinator, Col. Aminu Iliyasu, on Tuesday, said the attack occurred when the commander was returning from Jakana, where he visited the troops after his meeting with the Governor of Borno State, Prof. Babagana Zulum at Auno.
Other senior military officers in the theatre commanders’ convoy at the time of the ambush were the Deputy Theatre Commander, Maj. Gen. M. Ali; Brig. Gen. E. Eze; Brig. Gen. S. Igbinomwanya; and Lieutenant A. Tejuoso.
The statement read, “In a commendable demonstration of bold action in battle, the Theatre Commander led the gallant troops of his convoy to engage the criminal Boko Haram insurgents with superior firepower, subduing them.
“He, thereafter, assaulted the ambush site with his men thereby causing the insurgents to flee the location in disarray. In the aftermath of the encounter, several Boko Haram insurgents were decimated.”
It added that 20 rounds of 7.62mm special ammunition, two rounds of 7.62mm NATO ammunition, one pair of camouflage trousers, one Nigeria Police Force fragmental jacket, two AK-47 rifles, and three AK-47 rifle magazines were captured from the fleeing insurgents.
Iliyasu said two injured soldiers were evacuated to a military medical facility for treatment, adding that Adeniyi and his men had since returned safely to the theatre command headquarters in Maiduguri.
Meanwhile, the Peoples Democratic Party on Tuesday said given the renewed attacks by insurgents, bandits and kidnappers, and the need to protect the lives and properties of residents, it would be counterproductive for the Federal Government to withdraw troops from volatile states.
The PDP Deputy National Publicity Secretary, Mr Diran Odeyemi, in a response to one of our correspondents enquiry, said the failed ambush against Maj. Gen. Adeniyi, was an indication that withdrawal of troops was premature.
He said, “The intended withdrawal of military troops from Zamfara, Katsina and other North-Western states defies operational logic, especially weighed against the reasons given for the government’s intention to pull out these soldiers.
“The Boko Haram insurgency is a threat to Nigeria’s territorial integrity and that automatically brings it within the purview of military oversight whether the fronts for the confrontation are within or outside Nigeria itself. Besides, the military are clearly more well-trained, equipped and motivated to continue to defend the fort and rout Boko Haram insurgents all over the country.”
