Boko Haram’s Day Of Rage, Kills 140 Soldiers

By Tosin Olatokunbo

Tuesday, March 24 was a day of rage for Boko Haram insurgents who are trying to push back combined security forces from Nigeria, Cameroon, Niger and Chad.

The group has recently experienced leadership crisis after the ISWAP infiltrate its ranks, killing many of its leaders, including the son of Boko Haram founder, Mohammed Yusuf.

The insurgents had killed 47 Nigerian soldiers in Borno state in a bloody ambush.

On the same day, 92 Chad security forces personnel were killed by the Islamic jihadists.

“We lost 92 of our soldiers, non-commissioned officers and officers,” Chad President Idris Deby said, adding that “It’s the first time we have lost so many men.”

The onslaught against Nigerian and Chad soldiers, security analysts insist is a pointer that the group is trying to assert itself in the vast marshy area of the Sahel region.

But the development has not been well received by the two countries which suffered serious casualties from the unrepentant jihadists.

AFP while quoting one top Chad officer said the attack on soldiers on the Boma peninsula lasted at least seven hours, and reinforcements sent to help out were also targeted.

He further stated that 24 army vehicles were destroyed, including armoured vehicles, and captured military arms were carried off in speedboats by Boko Haram.

Another senior officer said “The enemy has hit at our defences hard in this zone.”

Meanwhile, President Muhammadu Buhari has issued a stern warning that his government will not be cowed by the insurgents’ deadly attack on soldiers.

The President in a statement by his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Mallam Garba Shehu last night said, “sacrifices of our gallant patriots cannot be quantified, and their sacrifices cannot go in vain.’

The president has commiserated with the family of the deceased soldiers promising that their death will not be in vain.

Buhari said “the death of every soldier causes deep pains because he knows what it means to be a soldier, and fully understands the extreme risks associated with the profession.

Despite the tragedies and incidents, we cannot allow anarchists and mass murderers to hold the country hostage.’’

He appealed to the military “not to allow the incident to affect their morale’’, assuring the troops that his government will continue tom provide modern warfare platforms to assist them defeat the insurgency.