At least three soldiers were killed as the Nigerian Army surrendered the control of one of its largest military bases in Northern Nigeria after Boko Haram terrorists attacked and overran a Forward Operating Base (FOB) in the Wajiroko area of Borno State.
Sources familiar with the situation told Peoples Gazette that the incident occurred around 10:00 p.m. on Monday when the terrorists launched a coordinated attack on the base housing troops of Operation Hadin Kai and Desert Sanity IV.
The Gazette gathered that the troops could not repel the insurgents’ attack and fled the area. Several reinforcement teams and air support immediately deployed to the area by the military command chain on Monday and Tuesday failed to regain control of the base.
According to the sources, three soldiers were killed during attempts to regain control of the base from Boko Haram, with three others also injured, including a brigade commander, Brigadier General U.F Abubakar, who was leading one of the reinforcement teams, Lance Corporal Ibrahim Musa and Private Mohammed Hashim.
Meanwhile, the details of the attack were said to be still sketchy. However, the sources confirmed that terrorists successfully took over the base, as drone footage showed dozens of soldiers running towards Sabon Gari for safety.
Army spokesperson Onyema Nwachukwu did not respond to The Gazette’s request for comment on Boko Haram’s latest attack on a military base.
This attack occurred days after President Bola Tinubu’s regime celebrated victory in the fight against insurgency. However, Monday’s attack confirmed that terror groups such as Boko Haram and the Islamic State of West Africa Province (ISWAP) are still capable of carrying out large-scale attacks in northern Nigeria.
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