The Defence Headquarters said that the inability of troops to extricate the two Mine Resistant Ambush Protected vehicle (MRAPs) stuck in swampy terrain during operations against bandits in Zamfara State was the reason the equipment were demobilised.
It said the two MRAPs were bogged down during troops fighting patrol in Zurmi local government area on Wednesday, August 29, due to the swampy terrain occasioned by persistent rain in the area.
The Military High Command said this in a statement by the Director of Defence Media Operations Maj-Gen Edward Buba.
There were viral videos of bandits claiming they seized the MRAPs from troops during operations in the state.
But Maj.Gen. Buba dismissed the bandits’ claim, saying the bandits wanted to take advantage of the situation to mislead the public.
The statement reads: “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 fighting patrol to dislodge terror gathering at Kwashabawa Village. Troops engaged the terrorist enroute the location.
The Military High Command also released a trending video spread by the terrorists’ claiming to have engaged in mass killing.
Gen. Buba said at no time did the terrorists kill hundreds of civilians in Sokoto State as claimed by the terrorist in the video.
He said: “It must be noted that, the incident never took place in Nigeria. Rather, it sadly took place in a nearby African country faced with terrorism.
“The terrorist in an act of desperation, tried to manipulate the situation to mislead gullible members of the public. The armed forces unequivocally states that, at no time twere 150 persons abducted in Gobir, Sokoto State.
“The rumoured abduction was deliberately planted by the terrorist to undermine troops winning efforts and cover up terrorist weakness.”
Gen. Buba urged the public to be “circumspect of the antics of the terrorist to propagate misinformation, disinformation and fake news as part of their war propaganda effort.”
He said despite the dynamics of the environment of the operation, troops retains “operational flexibility to make adjustments in achieving the strategic objective of winning the war.”
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