Boko Haram terrorists have overrun a military base in Damboa LGA of Borno State, killing dozens of soldiers, vigilantes and carting away military weapons.
Security and local sources confirmed the incident
One of the security sources said the fighters in large numbers carried out the attack around 4pm on Saturday at the Forward Operating Base, Sabon Gari area.
He said the military put up a good fight but they were overwhelmed by the terrorists.
“The base had suffered over 100 terrorist attacks in the past, but what happened yesterday was a devastating one, many soldiers and vigilantes were killed and all the armament in the base carted away.
“Operation vehicles and buildings were also burnt this time around,” he said.
Narrating how the incident happened, he said, “They (insurgents) initially sent a big drone, which we all thought was a military surveillance before they later attacked the base.
“I cannot tell you the exact number of the soldiers and vigilantes or the identity of the officers killed but we have recovered over 12 dead bodies,” he said.
He said the insurgents were said to have coordinated their attack from the Mandara Gau in Biu Local Government Area, about 25 kilometers away from the Sabon Gari base.
“They forcefully took over a mango plantation owned by a former commissioner in Borno State, where they currently lived as a hideout,” he said.
Another security source, who corroborated what happened, revealed that the insurgents used surveillance drones to scan their location before the deadly attack.
He said between Chibok and Damboa, in the last two weeks, Boko Haram has been using drones to do surveillance.
“In one of our bases, a day before Xmas, they attacked us and injured six soldiers.
On 24th December 2024, the terrorists launched a drone attack on the Forward Operating Base inside the Damboa LGA and injured at least six soldiers.
However, the spokesman for Defence Headquarters, Brig Gen Tukur Gusau, had during a media briefing in Abuja, described the attack as a harassment, saying it was not qualified to be called an attack.
He said the fighter drones used by terrorists in the bombardment of the Nigerian military base were “toy drones.”
A local source, who prefers a single name, Adamu, said that most of the terrorists that carried out the attack were fleeing insurgents dislodged by the joint military operations in Lake Chad.
“When the onslaught became unbearable to the terrorists in Lake Chad, most of them escaped and joined the terrorists here, loyal to the late Abubakar Shekau. It’s these people terrorising us now, “he said.
Months back, Chadian troops entered the Lake Chad area avenging the killing of its over 40 soldiers by the terrorists.
Also, President Mahmat Deby has stationed at least two thousand troops that are currently involved in ongoing operations in the Lake Chad general area, including on Nigerian soil.
The decade-long Boko Haram conflict, which had spread to the neighbouring Niger, Chad and Cameroon has killed tens of thousands of people and forced millions from their homes.
