The Defence Headquarters Command debunked claims of the abduction of 150 persons by terrorists in Gobir in Sokoto State.
A statement signed by the Director Defence Media Operations, Major General Edward Buba said the incident of mass killing and burial depicted by terrorists in a trending video happened in a nearby African country and not Nigeria.
In the first video, the bandits claimed they hijacked two armoured vehicles from the troops and were seen celebrating it.
In another video, terrorists were shown conducting a mass burial for citizens, while the last video claimed that over 150 residents were kidnapped in Sokoto State.
In a statement on Monday, the Director of Defence Media Operations, Maj Gen Edward Buba, said the videos were fake.
General Buba, in the statement, explained that on the 29th of August 2024, at about 5 pm, troops of OPERATION HADARIN DAJI deployed at FOB Zurmi in Zurmi LGA of Zamfara State, embarked on fighting patrol to dislodge terror gathering at Kwashabawa Village and during the fight, while attempting to outflank the terrorist, Quantity 2 of troops MRAPs got bogged down due to the swampy terrain occasioned by the rains.
The statement added that the troops dismounted and demobilised the MRAPs, when efforts to backload them were futile.
The sad demobilization of the MRAPs by troops he said was to prevent it from being useful to the terrorists after abandonment.
Buba said, “ On August 29, troops of OP HADARIN DAJI deployed at FOB Zurmi in Zurmi LGA of Zamfara State, embarked on fighting patrol to dislodge terror gathering at Kwashabawa Village. Troops engaged the terrorists en route to the location.
“During the fight, while attempting to outflank the terrorist. Quantity 2 of troops MRAPs got bogged down due to the swampy terrain occasioned by the rain. While troops tried to extricate the MRAPs, the terrorists massed up, knowing the challenge troops had encountered with the MRAPs.
He stated that the rumoured abduction of citizens in Sokoto was planted by terrorists to rubbish the win recorded by troops.
Buba said, “The terrorist, in an act of desperation, tried to manipulate the situation to mislead gullible members of the public. The armed forces unequivocally state that at no time were 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.”
Buba, therefore, urged the citizens to be mindful of the antics of the terrorists, adding that the terrorists resorting to propaganda is not uncommon in war.
He said, “On the whole, the public is urged to be circumspect of the antics of the terrorist to propagate misinformation, disinformation and fake news as part of their war propaganda effort. These situations are not uncommon in war.
“The dynamic and ever-changing environment of war creates some of these experiences. Nevertheless, troops retain operational flexibility to make adjustments in achieving the strategic objective of winning the war.”