Urges Public To Disregard Video About the Attack
The Nigerian Army has refuted reports that 17 of its personnel were killed during a foiled attack by terrorists in Benisheikh, Borno State clarifying that four including two officers and two soldiers died .
The headquarters of Operation Hadin Kai (OPHK), a joint military task force in the North-east, disclosed this via the army’s official X handle on Friday.
“OPHK categorically refutes the claim that 17 soldiers, including a Brigade Commander, lost their lives during the incident,” it said. “The official and verified report, as earlier released through Defence Headquarters, clearly stated that 2 officers and 2 soldiers paid the supreme price in the course of the engagement. Any contrary figure being circulated is entirely false, misleading, and devoid of credibility.”
The clarification comes days after several media outlets published that the 17 soldiers including Brigadier General Oseni Braimah were killed in the attack.
Fighters of Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) attacked three military bases in Borno including the one in Benisheikh where the brigade commander, General Braimah, and other soldiers were killed.
The spokesperson for OPHK, Sani Uba, in a statement claimed that the widely circulated figures were part of a deliberate attempt to distort facts and undermine ongoing counter-terrorism operations in the North-east.
Uba also said that claims that the brigade commander was killed because his escape vehicle failed to start or was unserviceable are false.
He explained that the commander was actively leading troops from a Mine-Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicle, which was only “temporarily immobilised” during the intense exchange of fire.
“The insinuation that the Brigade Commander’s vehicle was unserviceable is equally incorrect. The Commander was mounted on a high-grade Mine-Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicle, which was temporarily immobilised in the heat of combat while he was actively coordinating the counter-assault,” Mr Uba, a lieutenant colonel, wrote.
According to him, this reflected the severity of the battle and the commander’s presence at the frontline, rather than any equipment failure.
Mr Uba also said that many of the images and videos circulating about the attack were inaccurate, urging the public to disregard such content.
“The pictures and videos being circulated in connection with the incident are unrelated to the Benisheikh attack and are being deliberately misrepresented to reinforce false narratives,” he wrote. “The public is urged to disregard such content, which is clearly intended to misinform and create unnecessary panic.”
He stressed that troops successfully repelled the attack, retained control of their position, and forced the attackers into a “disorganised retreat.”
He warned against the spread of unverified information, describing it as harmful to national security and detrimental to the morale of troops engaged in ongoing operations.
The Benisheikh attack and its casualties add to a growing list of recent attacks by terrorists that have led to the killing of many soldiers.
