Defence Headquarters (DHQ) on Wednesday gave insight into what transpired between Boko Haram/Islamic State West Africa Province (BH/ISWAP) terrorists and military personnel attached to Forward Operating Base (FOB), Sabon Gari Area in Damboa Local Government Area of Borno State, saying that six soldiers lost their lives while 34 of the terrorists who infiltrated the base lost 34 of their fighters.
DHQ also explained that the terrorists invaded the Army base in retaliation of the recent killing of their commander and their fighters by troops of the Armed Forces of Nigeria (AFN).
Daily Trust had exclusively reported that four days after Boko Haram terrorists overran the military base, many soldiers were still unaccounted for – a development many stakeholders within the security circle described as “worrisome.”
Terrorists, in their large numbers, carried out the attack around 4pm on Saturday at the FOB, and the casualty figure was unknown as more bodies were recovered by the military search team as of Tuesday morning.
On Wednesday morning, Director, Defence Media Operations, Major General Edward Buba, explained that most of the bodies recovered were those of the terrorists, adding that they were neutralised by the Air Component of Operation HADIN KAI, which conducted the air interdiction.
General Buba noted that the Battle Damage Assessment revealed that several terrorists were killed while their weapons were recovered.
Although he said the Vigilante Commander got injured when he stepped on Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs), troops reinforcement team timely arrival to the scene saved the day.
According to General Buba: “On 4 January 2025, an unspecified number of ISWAP/BHT terrorists riding on motorcycles and gun trucks engaged troops deployed in Sabon Gari Village of Damboa LGA of Borno State in a fire fight.
“The terrorists had attempted to surprise troops and retaliate the recent killing of their commander and combatants by troops. The terrorists were taken unaware, when troops fighting patrol returning to the Base foiled their planned attack as soon as the attack commenced.
“Additionally, troops reinforcement team comprised of elements of Civilian Joint Taskforce, vigilante as well as hybrid forces timely arrived the scene to overpower the terrorists.
“Furthermore, though troops reinforcement team encountered Improvise Explosive Device injuring the Vigilante Commander. The reinforcement team arrived timely to decimate the fleeing terrorist.
“Furthermore, the air component of Operation HADIN KAI conducted air interdiction on the fleeing terrorists. Battle Damage Assessment revealed several killed terrorists and recovered weapons.
“On the whole, 34 terrorist were killed and 23 AK 47 weapons recovered. Troops also recovered with over 200 rounds of 7.62mm special ammunitions. Sadly, 6 personnel were killed in action.”
The Defence Operations Spokesperson appealed to the media organisations and Nigerians to respect non-disclosure of the names of killed-in-action (KIA) personnel to allow administrative procedures of notifying their Next of Kin.
