Facts on how terrorists attacked military officers of the 7 Guards Brigade and soldiers of other Battalions last Sunday in Bwari Council Area of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja have emerged.
In a leaked audio clip, a soldier of the 7 Guards Brigade, who was part of the operation, gave the detailed account of how the terrorists dislodged the soldiers, who included those from 177 and 102 Battalion in Keffi, killing no fewer than five. However, he said the soldiers killed about 12 terrorists and chased them from the entire area.
According to him, the terrorists, who were armed with Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) and other assaulted weapons, ambushed and engaged the soldiers from all sides after they (soldiers) advanced into the bush without their RPGs, Gun Trucks, AA and GPMG due to obstruction caused by water and rocks.
The soldier, who said he was injured and receiving treatment at the National Hospital, stated that the terrorists had written the School of Law at Bwari Road that they would be attacking the school. He said the school on receiving the letter immediately informed the 7 Guards Battalion.
He noted that the Brigade instantly mobilised to the school and started all round defence deployment. He further stated that there was contemplation that the terrorists may have plan B to attack another place, so they looked for the nearest prominent target that they may attack, which happened to be a University very close to the Law School, about 3.2 kilometre away.
“So, we also went there to create all round defence as well. We were there for over two weeks before the attack last Sunday,” he said.
According to him, the terrorists, who were already in the bushes, knew the soldiers were already on ground but did not have the plan of engage them until they (soldiers) advanced into the bush to clear their (terrorists) doubt after observing torch lights in the bush.
“At night we were always observing torch lights in the bush, so we were wondering who could be there at that time of the night. Therefore, we asked the security men at the University if they usually see the torch lights at night, but they said no. When it was morning, which was on Sunday, we have to advance into the bush. I was there in person.
“When we arrived there, we saw where they were smoking, where they cooked goat for food and also their tramol, so we confirmed that they were in the bush. Then we called for reinforcement and backup. They brought APC, gun truck, and Artillery team for us. So, we advanced into the bush, searching for them. This was on Sunday.
“Then we got to a place and there is water and some rock there, the gun truck could not channel through that particular road, so we parked them and that was why we had casualties to be sincere; we parked the AA, GPMG, the gun trucks because they cannot proceed through that route. We were with only our riffles and AK 47. We did not even carry RPG because we were thinking they will be only a pocket of enemy, like 20, 30 or thereabout.
“So, while we were inside the bush, we didn’t know that they have seen us from a very far distance. So, they laid ambush waiting for us to penetrate, flagging us from left and right. The moment we got to their AOR, they engaged us and really engaged us. We lost four soldiers in my Unit and it was three Units that went there – 177 and 102 from Keffi including my own Unit, 7 Guards Battalion.
“They dislodged us because they were fully prepared. They shell mortar and Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) but we still managed to kill about 12 of them. On our side, they killed one Captain, one Lieutenant and two soldiers in my Unit while 177 battalion lost one soldier and 102 battalion also lost one soldier,” he stated.
He, however, said the soldiers got reinforcement and have completely dislodged the terrorists in the eras after engaging them fearlessly.
“But since that day, we have been dislodging them. We have had reinforcement and I don’t think any of them is still in that bush again. They went through Kaduna route and we followed them. We later carry the Gun Truck through another route to block and engage them.
“They didn’t have the mind to face soldiers. They knew we were outside for that two weeks that was why they didn’t attack. If we were not there, they would have destroyed that school of law long time ago but they have to wait because they knew soldiers were outside and we mounted the place like it was our barrack since they wrote the school.
“We turned it to duty with 10 soldiers in each duty armed with rifles, AK 47 and gun trucks. It was because we went to the bush to clear their doubt that brought about the attack on us but they suffered it too,” he added.
Click on The Trumpet and follow us on our Twitter page for more:
