A senior military officer has dismissed reports claiming that eight soldiers were killed in an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) explosion along the Maiduguri-Dikwa road in Borno State, stating that only two personnel died in the attack.
The officer, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to speak to the media, said the incident occurred on Thursday when troops of the 24 Task Force, Joint Task Force North East, Operation HADIN KAI, were returning to their base in Dikwa from Maiduguri after conveying logistics.
According to the source, one of the convoy’s leading gun trucks struck an IED allegedly planted by suspected Boko Haram/ISWAP terrorists.
“Yes, on Thursday, one of our leading vehicles, a gun truck, ran into an IED on their way back to Dikwa from Maiduguri. Two soldiers paid the supreme price,” the officer said.
He described reports that eight soldiers died in the explosion as inaccurate.
“It is not true that eight soldiers lost their lives in the blast as erroneously reported by some online media,” he added.
The officer also urged journalists to verify security-related information before publication.
“Let me use this opportunity to call on media professionals to always verify information from the relevant authorities before going to press,” he said.
There was no official confirmation of the incident from the Nigerian military or other security agencies as of the time of filing this report.