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Nigerian Army Denies Being Routed By Boko Haram In Borno State

November 19, 2015

A military spokesman, Colonel Tukur Ismail Gusau, has denied a media report that Boko Haram insurgents overran troops in Guzamala, Borno State.

A military spokesman, Colonel Tukur Ismail Gusau, has denied a media report that Boko Haram insurgents overran troops in Guzamala, Borno State. The report had also claimed that the Islamist fighters killed several soldiers, adding that some soldiers, including the commanding officer of the military unit, could not be accounted for. 

In a statement, Colonel Gusau stated that it was untrue that Boko Haram terrorists ransacked soldiers of the 157 Task Force Battalion in Guzamala. He also dismissed the report that the troops lost equipment to the terrorists. 
 
He declared the report as “a fabrication from the imagination of those sympathetic to Boko Haram ways of life.”
 
According to the military spokesman, insurgents attacked the location of 157 Battalion last Wednesday, but they were “subsequently repelled by the gallant troops of the Unit.” He added that the unit’s commanding officer remained in contact with his Brigade Commander.
 
The statement added that the unit suffered some casualties in the attack, describing such losses as “normal in military operations.” Colonel Gusau stated, “The affected personnel sustained minor injuries but no gunshot wounds were sustained by the troops.”
 
The military declared that the “number of casualty and equipment lost as being circulated is not correct,” accusing the media of unnecessarily blowing the situation “beyond proportion to give terrorists the type of propaganda they desired.”
 
Colonel Gusau said the officers in charge of “Operation Lafiya Dole” had addressed the issue and given reporters the opportunity to ask questions and clarify doubts about the incident. 

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Military