DAYS AFTER B’HARAM ATTACK, 83 NIGERIAN SOLDIERS MISSING

Eighty-three soldiers, including a commanding officer, are still missing 4 days after the Nigerian army came under Boko Haram attack – The details of the attack are still catchy as the troops went missing after the attack – Hundreds of insurgents attacked the base of the Nigerian army on the border with Niger on Monday, October 17

Four days after the Nigerian army came under Boko Haram attack, at least 83 soldiers, including a commanding officer, are still missing, Premium Times reports. According to top level military sources monitoring the development, the soldiers were still missing in action as of Friday morning, four days after the attack.On Tuesday, October 18, the Nigerian Army confirmed the attack in a statement, but did s not given further updates. It did not also admit 83 soldiers were missing. It was reported earlier how the Nigerian troops drowned in a river as they scampered for safety in the face of a superior firepower from the terrorists. About 22 of the fleeing soldiers were later rescued by their Nigerien counterparts and dispatched to a hospital in Diffa, southern Niger, several others were fatally wounded after Boko Haram opened fire on them when they jumped into the River Yobe.

The missing Commanding Officer of 223 Tank Battalion in Gashigar, was identified as K. Yusuf, a lieutenant colonel. Military sources further revealed that  the troops could not withstand Boko Haram because they had only two light armour tanks to work with. Even the two tanks were withdrawn from the battlefront in Damasak to Gashigar, leaving soldiers in Damasak and other small units nearby with no tank. Apart from the poor equipment, the renewed show of strength by Boko Haram has frightened many, coming after months of relative success by the soldiers.

In another development, the chief of army staff Tukur Buratai on Tuesday, October 18, said all Boko Haram terrorists have been eliminated from Nigerian territory. The army chief speaking in Lagos at the Albati Barracks while commissioning some structures said most of the terrorists’ attacks are carried out by insurgents from the Lake Chad Basin. Buratai said these attacks are mostly carried out outside the borders of Nigeria.