The bodies of about 105 soldiers killed by Boko Haram insurgents in Borno State have been secretly buried by the Nigerian Army at the military cemetery in Maiduguri Tuesday morning.
An authoritative security source hinted our Correspondent that the decomposed bodies of the men who were killed in an encounter with the terrorists last week Wednesday were brought to Maiduguri Monday evening in body bags.
The military in an attempt to cover up the development has denied that any soldier was missing and described an exclusive story published Thursday by Premium Times as “a fabrication from the imagination of those sympathetic to Boko Haram ways of life.”
Military spokesman, Colonel Tukur Ismail Gusau said 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.
An impeccable source had reported that at least 105 soldiers attached to the 157 battalion went missing after they came under intense attack from Boko Haram insurgents in Gudunbali, Borno State, on Wednesday morning,
It was also reported that the terrorists captured a T-72 tank as well as several artillery weapons from the unit.
A source in Maiduguri who confirmed the latest development also revealed that about 34 men of the 118 battalion were also killed by the insurgents last week but the story was covered up by military authorities.
This deaths mark a nadir in the war against the terrorists. The administration of President Jonathan had contracted mercenaries with far superior military tactics in the war.
The mercenaries had dealt a telling blow to the terrorists at the tail end of the last administration. But the Buhari government in a fit of groundless bravado had sent the mercenaries packing, vowing that the terrorists could be defeated by the Nigerian Army. Since then, the Army had suffered severe losses.
The burial of the slain soldiers is coming on the heels of a statement on Monday by Defence Spokesman, Col. Sani Usman who described the report of the missing soldiers as a smear campaign against the Nigerian military.
