Ambush On Troops: Army Chief Visits Niger State

By Babatunde Solanke

The Chief of Army Staff, Lt-Gen Taoreed Lagbaja, is on his way to the Wushishi Local Government Area of Niger where bandits ambushed and killed troops.

Many troops were said to have died during the attack which happened on Monday, 14 August 2023.

Also, there were unconfirmed reports that the crashed Nigerian Air Force aircraft was the handiwork of the bandits. The Air Force has yet to debunk or confirm the reports.

However, the Director, Army Public Relations, Brig. Gen. Onyema Nwachukwu in an interview with Punch online, confirmed there were casualties on the troops’ side but refused to give details.

Nwachukwu, who said attention should be on the families of the troops left behind and not the number of troops killed, added that the Army Chief was on his way to the scene to motivate the troops.

“I can confirm that there was an incident in Wushishi LG of Niger State. Our gallant patriots paid the supreme price when they ran into an ambush staged by insurgents. They were courageous till the end. They stood their ground and defended our great country with their lives,” he said.

Recall that bandits on Monday, 14 August, 2023 went on rampage as they allegedly shot down Nigerian Air Force (NAF) helicopter, killed the pilot and shot dead 13 soldiers during an ambush along the Zungeru-Tegina road in the Madaka Ward of the Rafi Local Government Area of Niger State.

The convener, Shiroro Concerned Youths, Mr. Sanni Kokki, disclosed this in a telephone interview on Monday.

 “The unfortunate incident happened on Monday morning. As we speak, villagers living around the area are all now moving toward Erena.

“This is another problem because people are being displaced from their traditional homes to unknown destinations.

“We are having another humanitarian crisis on our hands with the economic challenges confronting our people,” Kokki said,

Confirming the incident, the senator representing Niger East Senatorial District, Sani Musa, described the incident as highly unfortunate, just as he called on the Federal Government to dispatch all its military and security arsenals to the troubled areas to save innocent lives and their property.

 “This is a very serious situation happening at a time we are happy that the issue of banditry is subsiding in our various communities in Niger State.

“The Federal Government should, as a matter of urgency, deploy all its arsenal to curtail further spread

“We have been having a reduction in cases of attacks but now it appears as if there is a serious escalation of the situation,” Musa said.

“The most alarming situation now is that the attacks look like a planned work because the bandits are carrying out their operations simultaneously in many parts of Niger State.

“Government should please, as a matter of urgency, take drastic action on it and save lives and property of our people,” the senator added.

The Nigerian Air Force, in a statement on Monday, confirmed that one of its aircraft crashed in Niger State, adding that the aircraft was on a casualty evacuation mission when the crash happened.

In the statement issued by the NAF Director of Public Relations and Information, Air Commodore Edward Gabkwet, said the aircraft departed Zungeru Primary School en route to Kaduna but was later discovered to have crashed in a village in the Shiroro Local Government Area of Niger State.

 “A Nigerian Air Force MI-171 helicopter on a casualty evacuation mission crashed today, August 14, 2023, at about 1pm at Chukuba Village in Niger State.

“The aircraft had departed Zungeru Primary School en route Kaduna but was later discovered to have crashed near Chukuba village in Shiroro Local Government Area of Niger State,” Gabkwet said.

Source: Punch Online