Log In
updated 10:20 AM UTC, Dec 13, 2023

Nigerian Army Says 23 Personnel Died When Boko Haram Attacked 157 Task Force Battalion

Unic Press UK: The Nigerian Army issued a press statement Wednesday on the recent Boko Haram attack on its military base – 157 Task Force Battalion Defensive Location, Metele, Guzamala Local Government Area, Borno State, in the North East region – confirming the death of 23 of its personnel.

“One of the Nigerian battalions (157 TF Bn), deployed under the auspices of the Multi-National Joint Task Force (MNJTF) was attacked at their Base on the outskirts of a town called METELE on 18th November 2018. During the attack, the troops were forced to withdraw and several casualties were recorded. As at date 23 personnel were killed in action and 31 personnel were wounded in action and have been evacuated to several medical hospitals within Borno State. The Nigerian Army commiserates with the MNJTF at this difficult time and wishes to state that all necessary support will be rendered to the MNJTF to reverse this resurgence of the Boko Haram Terrorists. The Nigerian Army wishes to further commiserate with the families of the gallant officers and soldiers that paid the supreme price in the course of defending their fatherland. The sacrifices of these fallen heroes will not be in vain. We also wish all those wounded in action speedy recovery and assure them of our continued support and care,” the statement by Brigadier General Sani Kukasheka Usman reads.

It was on November 18, 2018 that the Boko Haram – also known as the Islamic State West Africa Province – attacked the Nigerian battalion. Several reports from the local media had put the number of Nigerian soldiers killed at more than a hundred, citing anonymous sources.


About the Boko Haram

  • Boko Haram is also known as the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP).
  • Jama’atu Ahl as‐Sunnah li‐Da’awati wal‐Jihad [simply called Boko Haram] is a Jihad-driven terrorist organisation that was founded in 2002 by one Mohammed Yusuf. This terror group held the belief that Western education/lifestyles were completely against the teachings of Islam.
  • M Yusuf, the founder/spiritual head of Boko Haram was ‘extrajudicially’ executed in 2009 after the group clashed with Nigerian Police Forces in 2009.
  • The end of Yusuf’s earthly life in the hands of Nigerian security operatives is widely seen as a critical turning point in the history of the Boko Haram. Many have contended that the killing of Yusuf further radicalized his followers, thereby escalating a bad crisis.
  • It was after the killing of Yusuf that this terror group commenced full military operations in 2009, killing more than 15,000 people as of 2016.
  • They have attacked a number of places, including military barracks, police stations, churches, mosques, motor park stations, United Nations building in Nigeria’s federal capital territory, and so on.
  • In 2015, Boko Haram pledged allegiance to Daesh (Islamic State).
  • Boko Haram’s goals center on Islamization of Nigeria, to enforce sharia law throughout the gamut of Nigeria. This goal is utter delusion as Nigeria is a secular state, a multi-ethnic and multi-cultural country of circa 200 million people. More than 50% of Nigeria’s population are Christians, most of whom reside in the southern part of the country.
  • Abubukar Shekau, an eccentric character who appears deluded by virtue of his utterances in Boko Haram’s numerous videos, is the head of the main group. This is one man the Nigerian security forces had claimed several times to have killed, but each time the news of his death circulates, the man Shekau rises from nowhere proclaiming to the world that he is still alive.
  • In 2015, the Global Terrorism Index, published by the Institute for Economics and Peace, said that Boko Haram topped the ranking of terror groups having killed 6,644 people in Nigeria in 2014 when compared to Daesh’s tally of 6,074 people in the same period.

 

Tagged under

Leave a Reply