Borno ambush: Army clears air, says 100 terrorists killed

By Tobias Lengnan Dapam

Following an ambush on the troops of Operation Lafiya Dole, last week, in Gorgi, Borno State, the Nigerian Army has clarified air on the reports earlier released.

The reports indicated that 47 soldiers were killed while 15 were wounded, with about 500 to 200 casualties on the side of the terrorists.

However, while clarifying the reports to newsmen on Friday, at the Defence Headquarters, Major General, John Enenche, Coordinator, Defence Media Operations, said 29 troops were killed in the operation while 39 others were wounded.

“Following the encounter between Armed Forces of Nigeria and insurgents in Operation Lafiya Dole at Gorgi between 21 and 23 March 2020, a Team was sent to carry out the due operational After Action Procedure, which include; reconfirmation of casualties and immediate medical evacuation required among others.

“After the exercise, the Team made the following findings; Twenty Nine (29) Nigerian Troops were killed in action and Thirty Nine (39) were wounded in action, as a result of the explosion of the truck carrying logistics and ammunition resupply for the fighting echelon. This is contrary to the figures from the first contact situation report of Forty Seven (47) killed in action and Fifteen (15) wounded in action. This is a common occurrence during combat operations due to the fog of war, encounters or conflicts, when first contact reports are released to higher quarters in contemporary times, in order to counter false reports and fake news by mischief makers.

“The Team also found a casualty of over One Hundred (100) Boko Haram terrorists neutralized as the result of direct fire action and encounter with the gallant troops of the Land Component of the Armed Forces of Nigeria during the clearance of Gorgi. This figure is against the scores given during the briefing, Five Hundred (500) and Two Hundred (200) respectively provided by secondary sources.”

He further said that the Land Component of the Armed Forces of Nigeria in Operation Lafiya Dole, successfully cleared Gorgi and dealt a heavy blow on the enemy, and the end state of clearing Gorgi was achieved.

“The Armed Forces of Nigeria hereby assures the general public that it will remain committed to tackling the security challenges in the country to ensure that the Country is peaceful.”