Following the murder of soldiers by bandits in an ambush on Sunday, Chief of Army Staff Lt. Gen. Taoreed Lagbaja visited Niger State on Wednesday.
On Monday, a helicopter belonging to the Nigerian Air Force crashed in the Shiroro region of the state; bandits claimed responsibility.
The COAS ordered the immediate reinforcement of troops with equipment to improve their operational effectiveness during his Wednesday visit to the Forward Operating Base Erena in the Shiroro LGA.
Director of Army Public Relations Brig. Gen. Onyema Nwachukwu according to a statement from on Wednesday, urged troops to be more steadfast in bringing the country’s enemies to their knees.
According to Lagbaja, it is a necessary task to reclaim the areas the bandits are currently occupying.
He gave the troops encouragement by saying, “Protecting lives and defending your country is the most noble service anyone can provide. As a result, you should maintain your enthusiasm because you are in the noble profession of arms.
“We must defeat the enemies of our people and reclaim every square inch of our country where they are hiding out.
Lagbaja assured the troops that he would use all of his resources to ensure the welfare of military personnel and their families.
Meanwhile, the Shiroro LGA’s residents have begun evacuating their homes due to military air raids that they believe are imminent, according to information from our correspondent in Niger.
Following the downing of a NAF helicopter on Tuesday, The PUNCH reported that Air Marshal Hassan Abubakar, the Chief of Air Staff, vowed that the military would exterminate bandits in Niger and other states.
The downing of a military helicopter on Monday at Badna, Chukuba ward of Shiroro Local Government Area in Niger State was blamed on the Dogo Gide-led bandits.
The Gistlover also discovered that on Tuesday, bandits attacked troops as they were evacuating the remains of their colleagues.
The bandits engaged the troops in a fierce battle, according to a local community leader who did not want his name published in a phone interview with one of our correspondents.
He remarked, “The Army and bandits engaged in a fierce battle yesterday (Tuesday).”. The bandits started shooting as they attempted to remove the dead soldiers’ bodies. There began to arrive a lot of soldiers. According to what I’ve heard, they later removed the bodies. Yesterday, I departed with other people to travel to Mina. They are not your typical bandits. “
A military source also confirmed to our correspondent that on Tuesday, bandits attacked the troops.
Exactly right, the source said. Their side suffered more casualties because it was such a close fight. They recovered their casualties and some were left behind before our troops could be reinforced.
Residents of the area have started to leave their homes, according to a Shiroro resident who spoke to our correspondent under the condition of anonymity because they were worried about being caught in potential military air raids on bandit strongholds.
“Anyone could be caught up in the raid, and that will be collateral damage. Residents of the village were compelled to leave after learning this information and are now hoping that they will return when things have calmed down. They do not wish to be discovered during the raid.
“We don’t know how accurate the planned raid is, but the military is unhappy and may decide to take action given the number of soldiers killed in the clash on Sunday and the shooting down of the helicopter.
The Air Force requested that Nigerians stop sharing a social media video that purportedly showed the wreckage of the MI-171 helicopter along with the bodies of victims in Chukuba village in Shiroro LGA of Niger State.
In a statement, Air Commodore Edward Gabkwet, a spokesman for the Nigerian Air Force, said that those who were “helping and abetting the propaganda tendencies of terrorists by spreading the videos of the alleged crash site with gory pictures of dead military personnel should rethink the consequences of their actions on the morale of troops, families of deceased personnel, as well as on Nigeria’s national security.”.
