Brigadier General Dzarma Zurkusu and seven other soldiers killed earlier in the month in Chibok, Borno State, were buried on Friday in Yola.
Zurkusu was killed alongside four soldiers in an ambush by the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) terrorists in Uba Askira, Borno State, on November 13, 2021.
Earlier, three other military fighters were killed in a separate encounter with the terrorists.
The eight were laid to rest Friday evening at Gibson Jalo Cantonment Military Cemetery in Yola with President Muhammadu Buhari represented by Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Boss Mustapha, with host governor Ahmadu Fintiri personally in attendance.
Burial rites for the deceased were followed earlier in the day with a church service for the five Christians among the deceased and Islamic prayers for the three Muslims among them.
In a message to the event, President Buhari said through the SGF that the slain military officers and men were courageous men who paid the supreme price for their fatherland.
“Nigeria has lost great soldiers. But the soldier in them will remain immortal,” Buhari said.
In his own personal remark, Boss Mustapha, who hails from the same Kalaha town in Hong local government area of Adamawa State with the late General Zurkusu, said the late General was a gallant officer whose gallantry was recognized and respected.
“He was synonymous with gallantry,” Boss Mustapha said of the General, adding that the General would be remembered for such worthy attribute.
In his speech, the Chief of Army Staff, Lt Gen Farouk Yahaya, said the military officers died as heroes fighting to protect the nation and the Nigerian Army would place their children on scholarship in addition to paying all their entitlements.
Governor Ahmadu Fintiri, in his own turn, said the presence of the military formation which the deceased brigadier general headed accounted for the relative peace that Madagali and Muchika towns in Adamawa State have been enjoying in recent times.
Both towns have always been the hardest hit in Adamawa State in respect of attacks by Boko Haram terrorist elements.
The governor announced the donation of a total of N27 million to the families of the deceased: N10 million for the bereaved family of Brig Gen Dzarma Zurkusu and N17 million for the other seven bereaved families.
