The Defence headquarters on Thursday said that 20 insurgents were killed as attempts by terrorists to attack Ajiri and Mafa in north eastern Borno State was foiled on Wednesday by security forces.
A statement in Abuja from Chris Olukolade, the Director of Defence Information, said the terrorists tried to attack the villages and other communities on the outskirts of Maiduguri and Dikwa in Borno State toward the Cameroon borders.
“The ambush mounted by the terrorists to enable them unleash terror on the communities unchallenged was also cleared by troops on reinforcement mission.
“Twenty insurgents died in the encounter while troops sustained varying degrees of injuries.
“Arms captured from the terrorists include various brands of machine guns and improvised explosive devices,” it said.
The statement also said that more camps were destroyed in the encounters at various forests and mountain locations around Adamawa and Borno states.
The statement noted with grave concern the inflammatory pronouncements by some highly placed persons in government and some apparently sponsored commentators in and outside the country.
It said the people had consistently given false and misleading remarks to describe the disposition of troops in the ongoing operations.
It added that it had become clear that the sustained campaign was intended to demoralise the troops and give the impression that the military was overwhelmed by the terrorist group.
The statement decried the tendency, saying the military cannot by any standard be overwhelmed by the insurgents.
It also said that the devious antics of their sympathisers and sponsors could not demoralise the fighting spirit of troops.
The statement called on Nigerians to discountenance the propaganda messages of the terrorists and their backers alleging the inability of Nigerians troops to handle the insurgency. Enditem
