Defence Headquarters on Sunday said a platoon of Nigerian soldiers that engaged Boko Haram fighters this weekend did not run from the insurgents.
The insurgents were said to have overpowered the soldiers during an exchange of fire, forcing the troops to retreat, an action that reportedly gave the insurgents opportunity to capture a military base in Marte, Borno.
The attack set off a chain of reaction among which is concerns about a rejuvenated Boko Haram, following a few weeks of relative calm at the hotbed of the terrorism war, which is now in its eleventh year.
In a statement on Sunday, spokesman of Defence Headquarters, Bernard Onyeuko said troops didn’t run away from the flash point.
He noted that they instead adopted a tactical withdrawal that later yielded massive result.
The insurgents struck a camp of Nigerian soldiers in Marte, Borno, on Saturday in an attempt to overrun the base, Defence spokesman Bernard Onyeuko said in a statement
Onyeuko, a brigadier-general, however, said claims that the important military formation was captured is false. Instead, Nigerian soldiers purposely deployed a strategy that hoodwinked the insurgents into a false sense of early truimphs.
“The troops based on reliable information about the attack, positioned themselves in an ambush site where they tactically withdrew to and awaited the arrival of the terrorists before they opened fire which led to fierce battle,” Mr. Onyeuko said.
He said the troops have taken control of the base and have launched a hot pursuit of the criminals.
Advertise or Publish a Story on EkoHot Blog:
Kindly contact us at [email protected]. Breaking stories should be sent to the above email and substantiated with pictorial evidence.
Citizen journalists will receive a token as data incentive.
Call or Whatsapp: 0803 561 7233, 0703 414 5611
