DHQ refutes mass civilian killing by terrorists in Sokoto, explains vehicles demobilisation in Zamfara

Abdullateef Fowewe

The Defence Headquarters of Nigeria has refuted claims made by terrorists regarding the mass killing of civilians in Sokoto State.

The denouncement follows the emergence of videos over the weekend that purportedly depicted bandits celebrating the hijacking of military vehicles and conducting mass burials of civilians in Sokoto State.

In a statement released on Monday, Director of Defence Media Operations, Major General Edward Buba, labelled the videos as fake and clarified that the military vehicles, which were reportedly hijacked, had actually become stuck in swampy terrain during a military operation in Zamfara State.

He stated that the troops demobilised the vehicles to prevent them from falling into the hands of terrorists.

The statement establishes, “On 29 Aug 24, at about 1700 hrs, troops of OP HADARIN DAJI deployed at FOB Zurmi in Zurmi Local Government Area of Zamfara State, embarked on a fighting patrol to dislodge terror gathering at Kwashabawa Village. Troops engaged the terrorists en route to the location.

“During the fight, while attempting to outflank the terrorist. Quantity 2 of troops MRAPs got bogged down due to the swampy terrain occasioned by the rain. While troops tried to extricate the MRAPs, the terrorist mass up knowing the challenge troops had encountered with the MRAPs.

“Subsequently, troops dismounted and demobilised the MRAPs, when efforts to backload them were futile. The sad demobilisation of the MRAPs by troops was to prevent it from being useful to the terrorists after abandonment. These situations further illustrate the effect of weather in changing conditions for ground operations.”