COAS approves five FOBs for 82 Division

•Troops kill 16 insurgents in Borno, recover ammunition

Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lt.-Gen. Tukur Buratai, has approved the formation of five Forward Operating Bases (FOBs) for the 82 Division of Nigerian Army in Enugu State. Meanwhile, troops of Operation Lafiya Dole have killed 16 Boko Haram insurgents and recovered ammunition along Mairari FOB in Monguno council of Borno State.

Deputy Director, Public Relations, Theatre Command of Operation Lafiya Dole, Col. Onyema Nwachukwu, stated yesterday in Maiduguri that the insurgents infiltrated Mairari on Friday with three vehicles, including gun trucks, and attacked by 6.50pm. The fierce encounter with the terrorists lasted six hours.News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the five new FOBs will be located at the stretch of the Nigerian border from Taraba to Bakassi, which falls under the Division’s Areas of Responsibility.

Maj.-Gen. Adamu Abubakar, General Officer Commanding (GOC) 82 Division, told NAN yesterday in Enugu that the FOBs would greatly help to improve security within the border areas known as flash points.He lauded the COAS for his vision and forthrightness in approving the FOBs to immediately take care of external incursions in the border areas.

“So far, the Chief of Army Staff, Lt.-Gen. T.Y. Buratai, has approved the formation of Forward Operating Bases (FOBs). Currently, we have five; one in Ikang, one in Ekang, one in Danari, one in Mfum, and we will soon bring up one in Kashimbila.

“I assure Nigerians that that stretch from Taraba up to Bakassi, that is Ikang, is safe,” he said.On internal security, the GOC noted that the division had helped the police and civil authorities to ensure that organised and violent crimes were reduced to the barest minimum.

According to him, “everybody living in the area knows that crime has reduced drastically in the past six months, even as we are not resting on our oars.“So, the military is really doing so much to ensure security.”

According to Nwachukwu, immediately after the attack, the locals also alerted troops at the FOB.He said the troops, supported by the Nigerian Air Force (NAF), responded swiftly and neutralised the 16 insurgents.

The gun trucks, he added, were however abandoned, as the insurgents tried to escape from the superior firepower of soldiers.“During the encounter, the gallant troops also recovered 163 rounds of anti-aircraft gun,” said Nwachukwu.

He further disclosed that four civilians and a soldier, who sustained injuries, had been evacuated to a military hospital for treatment.On the escaped terrorists, he said: “The
FOB has been further reinforced with additional troops, while fighting patrols are on the trail of fleeing insurgents towards Lake Chad Island and Abadam Forest.”He urged the people to remain vigilant and report any suspicious person or activity, while they go about their normal businesses.