The Defence Headquarters has denied that bandits in Zamfara
State hijacked two armoured vehicles.
It also refuted claims that a large number of civilians were
killed and mass buried by terrorists, as well as reports that over 150
terrorists were kidnapped also by terrorists in Sokoto State.
The DHQ’s response was following videos that had emerged
over the weekend.
In the first video, the bandits claimed they hijacked two
armoured vehicles from the troops and were seen celebrating it.
In another video, terrorists were shown conducting a mass
burial for citizens, while the last video claimed that over 150 residents were
kidnapped in Sokoto State.
In a statement on Monday, the Director of Defence Media
Operations, Maj Gen Edward Buba, said the videos were fake.
Explaining what happened in Zamfara, he said the two
Armoured vehicles got stuck due to the swampy nature of the area while troops
were trying to outflank the terrorists gathering at Kwashabawa Village.
He added that the troops demobilised the vehicles to prevent
the terrorists from making use of it.
Buba said, “ On August 29, troops of OP HADARIN DAJI
deployed at FOB Zurmi in Zurmi LGA of Zamfara State, embarked on fighting
patrol to dislodge terror gathering at Kwashabawa Village. Troops engaged the
terrorists en route to the location.
“During the fight, while
attempting to outflank the terrorist. Quantity 2 of troops MRAPs got bogged
down due to the swampy terrain occasioned by the rain. While troops tried to
extricate the MRAPs, the terrorists massed up, knowing the challenge troops had
encountered with the MRAPs.
“Subsequently, troops dismounted and demobilised the MRAPs
when efforts to backload them were futile. The sad demobilization of the MRAPs
by troops was to prevent it from being useful to the terrorists after
abandonment. These situations further illustrate the effect of weather in
changing conditions for ground operations.”
Buba also said the trending video of terrorists conducting
mass burials for citizens never happened in the country.
He said, “In a related development, the attention of DHQ has
been drawn to a trending video propagated from the terrorist camp. The video
depicted the killing of several civilians in a mass grave. It must be noted
that the incident never took place in Nigeria. Rather, it sadly took place in a
nearby African country faced with terrorism. “
He stated that the rumoured abduction of citizens in Sokoto
was planted by terrorists to rubbish the win recorded by troops.
Buba said, “The terrorist, in an act of desperation, tried
to manipulate the situation to mislead gullible members of the public. The
armed forces unequivocally state that at no time were 150 persons abducted in
Gobir (Sokoto State). The rumoured abduction was deliberately planted by the
terrorist to undermine troops’ winning efforts and cover up terrorist
weakness.”
Buba, therefore, urged the citizens to be mindful of the
antics of the terrorists, adding that the terrorists resorting to propaganda is
not uncommon in war.
He said, “On the whole, the public is urged to be
circumspect of the antics of the terrorist to propagate misinformation,
disinformation and fake news as part of their war propaganda effort. These
situations are not uncommon in war.
“The dynamic and ever-changing environment of war creates
some of these experiences. Nevertheless, troops retain operational flexibility
to make adjustments in achieving the strategic objective of winning the war.”
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