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The Defence Headquarters, DHQ, on Monday explained why troops of Operation Hadarin Daji demobilised and abandoned two of its MRAPs in Zamfara State.
Contrary to reports that bandits led by Bello Turji captured the vehicles, a statement by Maj-Gen Edward, the Director, Defence Media Operations, disclosed that the MRAPs were demobilised by troops because they were got bogged down due to the swampy terrain occasioned by the rainy.
“On 29 Aug 24, at about 1700hrs, 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 terrorist enroute the location,” Edward said.
“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 demobilisation 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.”
Edward also debunked a trending video, which depicted the killing of several civilians in a mass grave, saying the sad incident did not happen in Nigeria.
“Rather, it sadly took place in a nearby African country faced with terrorism,” he said, adding that the terrorists tried to manipulate the situation to mislead gullible members of the public.
“The armed forces unequivocally states that, at no time twere 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.
“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,” he said.
