Nigerian Presidential Guards got caught in an ambush by Terrorists
The troopers’ initiative helped prevent an attack at the law school, but they did fall victim to ambush due to their lack of understanding of the area.
The most recent ambush by terrorists which killed a few members of the Presidential Guards Brigade has its context in the efforts to stop an attack on two Abuja third-party institutions by soldiers.
The soldiers mounted an offensive to eliminate terrorists, but the logistical and terrain issues made them vulnerable to fire from the enemy the survivors reported to AFFAIRS OF NAIJA.
Eight soldiers comprised of an officer, a captain and six soldiers from three brigade units were reported to be dead.
Our sources, who were part of the fighting, reported that six soldiers died, including two officers who have been identified as being officials of the Kogi State Government as being state-wide.
Our sources also confirmed that the attack took place in the early morning hours of Sunday, 24 July, not on the 22nd of July, which is Friday according to earlier reports.
Three soldiers also suffered injuries in the combat, which is an indication of Nigeria’s increasing vulnerability to criminals who are violent under the presidency of President Muhammadu Buhari.
The fact that it affected the elite security force that was tasked with the security of Abuja and the president in particularly increased security worries in the capital city, only three weeks after terrorists struck at the Kuje jail.
Two weeks prior to the incident two weeks prior to the attack, it was reported that the Nigerian Law School in the Bwari region of Abuja was sent a notice warning of a possible raid. The school was then informed by the 7 Battalion of the Guards Brigade that they were on the lookout for them, according to AFFAIRS OF NAIJA.
“Instantly,” one source from the guardsmen’s officers brigade reported the army began an all-around-the-fence patrol, with 20 soldiers rotating for two shifts per day using an armoured vehicle.
“It was like our barrack; otherwise, the enemies could have invaded the law school,” the source claimed. “But they remained in the bush and refused to come out because of our heavy presence.”
The officer explained that the soldiers were considering an idea that “the criminals” could have a “plan B” to attack an additional prominent location within the region, apart from the school for law.
“Then, we found Veritas University Bwari, less than four kilometres to the law school and we went there too for all-around-the-fence deployment,” the officer explained.
It was at Veritas University that the clear indications that led to the decision to move into the bush to pursue of terrorists surfaced. The soldiers observed light caused by torches emanating from the bush in the night. The army investigated that sign “as part of surveillance by the enemies.”
As it was Sunday, soldiers headed for the bush, where they discovered evident evidence of burned and slaughtered goats and the smoking of cigarettes as well as hemp to “confirm the presence of criminals around the area.”
Evidently, the men in arms saw the soldiers and fled into the forest. However, the troops were determined to seek them out of them and neutralize their presence “despite having no clear and certain knowledge of the terrain,” according to a different source, a senior officer in two formations that later became part of to form the 7 Battalion of the Guards Brigade.
The 7 Battalion troopers are joined by 2 other divisions from the Guards Brigade, namely 177 Battalion and 102 Battalion respectively located in the neighbouring Nasarawa as well as Niger states. AFFAIRS OF NAIJA confirmed.
“So, we called for reinforcements, and APC (armoured personnel carrier), gun trucks, and artillery team arrived,” stated an initial source. “But we got to an area with rocks and some water and the gun trucks could not penetrate that area; so, we had to park them.”
“We did not go into the forest with our AK-47 rifles. We didn’t even carry RPGs because we believed that they were only a handful of opponents, not more than 30.
“As we moved deeper into the forest the wolves clearly saw us, but we didn’t observe them. They laid ambush on us and waited for our advance. They were on our flanks and took us on a serious attack. They sprayed mortals and explosives.”
AFFAIRS OF NAIJA tried to contact the military via text to explain the information we have gathered and ask for feedback. The military spokesperson Jimmy Akpor, a major general, declined to comment.
Later in the evening on the day remains from officers of the fallen army were discovered.
Despite the number of casualties suffered by the troops two sources independently stated that at the very least 10 terrorists had been killed.
In the days following the military was further bolstered to thwart the terrorists.
Also read: Attack on Presidential Guards: Nigerian military counterattacks terrorists kill 30 Official
“The military launched massive bombardments. The areas where troops were unable to reach with gun trucks before were cleared and we took alternative ways,” said the second source who expressed “confidence” of the Bwari area is now free of terrorists.
The military then announced that at the very least 30 terrorists have been killed in the clearance actions in Bwari.
A couple of days later, terrorists attacked troops from the 102 Batallion at a checkpoint located on the highway Abuja-Kaduna. The checkpoint was situated in the middle of the capital city. Details of the casualties haven’t been released.
This attack against the Guards Brigade occurred less than three weeks after terrorists staged an attack similar to that of the president’s team from Dutsinma, Katsina State. The same day, terrorists seized Kuje prison in Abuja. Kuje prison located in Abuja released hundreds of prisoners as well as Boko Haram inmates.
The assault on the Guards’ brigade took place two days after terrorists released the video of their torture of those kidnapped on the train that runs between Abuja and Kaduna.
A terrorist featured in the video warned that his group will abduct Buhari and the governor of Kaduna State, Nasir El-Ruf Buhari and Kaduna Governor of the State Nasir El-Rufai, and cause destabilisation to the nation if their demands are not fulfilled.
It is believed that they are seeking release for prisoners in prisons throughout Nigeria.
