Lt. Gen. Taoreed Lagbaja, the Chief of Army Staff, is in route to the Wushishi Local Government Area in Niger, where bandits ambushed and killed soldiers.
According to reports, a significant number of soldiers perished in the strike on Monday.
Additionally, there were unsubstantiated accusations that the bandits were responsible for the Nigerian Air Force plane that crashed. The claims have not yet been refuted or verified by the Air Force.
However, Brig. Gen. Onyema Nwachukwu, the director of Army Public Relations, said there were deaths on the side of the military but would not provide further information in a conversation with our correspondent on Tuesday.
He advised reporters to focus on the families of the soldiers who were left behind rather than the number of dead soldiers.
Onyema continued by saying that the Army Chief will soon be at the spot to inspire the soldiers.
He said, “I can confirm that there was an incident in Wushishi LG of Niger State. Our gallant patriots paid the supreme price when they ran into an ambush staged by insurgents. They were courageous till the end. They stood their ground and defended our great country with their lives.
“The focus now is how to console and bring respite to those they left behind. Sadly, the incident occured while the Chief of Army Staff is on an operational tour of the North-West Operations theatre for an on-the-spot assessment and reinvigoration of ongoing operations. He is currently headed to the affected formation to encourage the troops.”