*Military reveals 22 soldiers, three officers killed in Niger State terrorist’s ambush
The Nigerian military high command has revealed that three officers and 22 soldiers were killed during the ambush on troops in Niger State.
The disclosure was made today by the Director, Media Operations, Maj. General Edward Buba during a bi-weekly briefing with newsmen.
He also said seven soldiers were wounded during the ambush.
He further revealed that 14 soldiers were killed, seven soldiers wounded while two pilots and two crew members were onboard the NAF helicopter that had accident.
The NAF MI-171 Helicopter came under attacks by terrorists while on rescue mission on August 14, 2023 at around 1.pm near Chukuba village in Niger State.
The aircraft had departed Zungeru Primary school through Kaduna after a distress call before it came under attack leading to the crash.
General Buba explained that the aircraft crashed after lifting bodies and injured soldiers which he said were 14.
The soldiers he said were previously killed in action while seven wounded in action, suffered the same fate while onboard the aircraft.
The aircraft, he revealed, had two pilots.
Recall that terrorists allegedly loyal to one Dogo Gide operating in that part of the state claimed responsibility for the attack.
The terrorists also released videos of the attack, which is widely being circulated, a development the Military High Command has warned against, urging Nigerians not to buy into the “terrorists propaganda.”
Giving breakdown on troop’s kinetic activities against terrorist’s, Major General Buba said the military was strategically deployed across the country to conduct operations aimed at curtailing the activities of violent extremist groups fomenting insecurity in the country.
According to him, “To this end, troops will continue to respond with overwhelming military force against any group that threatens the safety of citizens and own forces. The men and women of the armed forces will continued to put themselves in harms ways, time and time again, to protect our great nation.
“During the week leading to 17 August 2023, the military neutralized 28 terrorists, arrested 92 terrorists, 6 gunrunners, 3 kidnappers, 6 collaborators, 7 perpetrators of oil theft. Troops also rescued 82 kidnapped hostages and denied oil theft the sum of Eight Hundred and Seventy-Six Million Four Hundred and Fifty-One Thousand Eight Hundred Naira (N876,451,800.00) only.
“Overall, troops recovered 108 weapons and 564 ammunition. The breakdown as follows: 22 AK47 rifles, one PKT gun, 6 pump action guns, 4 dane guns, one fabricated rifle, one galil ace rifle, one RGP bomb, one RPG tube, 44 hand grenades, 322 rounds of 7.62mm special, 63 rounds of 12.7mm ammo, 12 rounds of 5.6mm ammo, 33 AK47 magazines, one empty case of 7.62mm special and 3 empty magazines. Other items include; 14 motorcycles, 16 mobile phones, 3 motorolla radio, one boafeng radio, 2 motorcycle tyres, 5 touch lights, 2 solar panels, 104 livestock and the sum of Two Million Eight Hundred and Ninety-Six Thousand Four Hundred Naira (N2,896,400.00).
“Troops in the Niger Delta area discovered and destroyed 36 dugout pits, 62 wooden boats, 73 storage tanks, one vehicle and 75 cooking ovens. Others include; 4 pumping machine, 5 outboard engine and 33 illegal refining sites. Furthermore, troops recovered 1,166,900 litres of stolen crude oil, 1,491,250 litres of illegally refined AGO, 54,750 litres of DPK and 800 litres of PMS.
“No doubt, the armed forces possess the power and the will to hunt down those that wish to bring harm upon our citizens. The ongoing operations is a message to those that question the resolve of the military. It is also a message to members of these violent extremist groups that think they can hide. They can be rest assured that others shall raise their sons and daughters, as no one will strike at the military without injurious consequences.”