The Military High Command, on Monday, explained that the inability of troops to extricate the two Mine Resistant Ambush Protected vehicles (MRAPs) stuck in swampy terrain during operations against bandits in Zamfara was the reason the equipment was demobilised.
This was contained in a statement made available to Defence Correspondents in Abuja by the Director of Defence Media Operations Maj-Gen Edward Buba.
The statement clarified that the two MRAPs were bogged down during troops fighting patrol in Zurmi local government area of the state on Wednesday, August 29, due to the swampy terrain occasioned by persistent rain in the area.
There were viral videos of bandits claiming they seized the MRAPs from troops during operations in the state.
However, in the statement, Maj. Gen. Buba dismissed the bandits’ claim, saying the bandits wanted to take advantage of the situation to mislead the public.
According to the statement, “On 29 Aug 24, at about 1700 hrs, troops of OP HADARIN DAJI deployed at FOB Zurmi in Zurmi Local Government Area of Zamfara, 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 demobilized 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 terrorist after abandonment. These situations further illustrate the effect of weather in changing conditions for ground operations.”
The Military High Command also dismissed a trending video spread by the terrorists claiming to have engaged in mass killing.
Gen. Buba pointed out that at no time did the terrorists kill hundreds of civilians in Sokoto State as claimed by the terrorist in the video.
According to the statement, “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.
“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.
“The rumoured abduction was deliberately planted by the terrorist to undermine troops winning efforts and cover up terrorist weakness.”
Gen. Buba urged the public to be “circumspect of the antics of the terrorist to propagate misinformation, disinformation and fake news as part of their war propaganda effort.”
He said despite the dynamics of the environment of the operation, troops retain “operational flexibility to make adjustments in achieving the strategic objective of winning the war.”
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