The Nigerian Army has debunked the alleged killing of 30 soldiers by Boko Haram terrorists at Zari village in Guzamala Local Government Area of Borno State on Friday.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that an international wire service had reported that troops deployed in Zari in Guzamala LGA had been killed when Boko Haram lunched a deadly attack on the village on Thursday evening.
According to the report, scores of jihadists in trucks stormed the base at Zari village, in northern Borno State late Thursday and briefly seized it after a fierce battle in which 30 soldiers were killed.
However Brig.-Gen. Texas Chukwu, Director, Army Public Relations, in an interview with NAN on Sunday, stated the report was a “figment of imagination.’’
Chukwu stated contrary to the claim, the insurgents didn’t attack any military formation but rather came to loot foodstuffs and extort cash from the locals.
He stated that the insurgents were repelled by the land troops of 82 Task Force deployed in Operation Lafiya Dole, who were closely supported by the Air Task Force.
“During the fire-fight, overwhelming volume of fire was unleashed on the insurgents from both the air and ground troops, neutralising several of them and their weapons.
“The Boko Haram took some of their corpses and fled while others escaped with bullet injuries, adding that normalcy and sanity was restored within the affected communities.
“It is very unfortunate how people will just sit in the comfort of their zones and fabricate stories that don’t exist, most especially the international media.
“Such false narratives, we’ve got always consider are deliberate makes an attempt to advertise Boko Haram and their actions in opposition to the sovereignty of the nation.
“That media organisation was stated to have gotten their information from a security personnel and went ahead to file their report with out making further inquiries.
“This is unethical and unprofessional to say the least,” Chukwu added.
He however urged Nigerians to disregard all propaganda credited to Boko Haram terrorists as troops were doing their best to ensure that the insurgents were expelled from the area.
