19 soldiers wounded, others missing during Boko Haram ambush

Troops on clearance patrol at Guro Gongon
village and environs killed several insurgents
during an ambush by Boko Haram terrorists
on Friday.
However, about 19 soldiers and three civilian
members of the Joint Taskforce were
wounded in action while a few others were
missing in action, the army said in a
statement by its spokesman, Col. Sani
Usman.
It stated that the wounded soldiers had been
evacuated and were responding to treatment,
while a search and rescue party, comprising
of Special Forces personnel, had since been
dispatched to establish contact with the
missing-in-action troops.
It said some of those who were missing in
action had started returning to their defensive
location.
“It is pertinent to state that no stones would
be left unturned until every person involved in
the operation has been accounted for,” it
said.
The statement explained that troops
destroyed the terrorists’ makeshift camps
and recovered quite a number of weapons,
equipment and foodstuff in the process.
Items recovered include one gun truck
mounted with an anti-aircraft gun, a MOWAG
Armoured Personnel Carrier, one Rocket-
Propelled Grenade Tube, one Light Machine
Gun, three AK-47 rifles and motorcycles.
Meanwhile, the acting Inspector-General of
Police, Ibrahim Idris, has directed the
commissioners of police in Imo and Kogi
states to ensure proper coordination of
security operations and adequate deployment
of police personnel for the conduct of the
rerun senatorial elections in Imo North
Senatorial District and Kogi East Senatorial
District of the states coming up on July 23,
2016.
The security arrangements put in place will
also cover the Houses of Assembly rerun
elections taking place on the same date in
the two states.
As part of the measures aimed at
guaranteeing a hitch-free and credible
electioneering process during the elections,
the Inspector-General of Police has approved
the deployment of additional Police Mobile
Force personnel, Counter-Terrorism Units
and conventional policemen from
neighbouring states to be deployed in all
identifiable flash/vulnerable points and other
strategic locations within the senatorial
districts where the rerun elections would
hold.
A statement by the police Spokesman,
Donald Awunah, on Friday, said the
commissioners of police in the two states
were under strict instructions from the IG to
provide adequate security for electoral
officials, election materials, the electorate,
election observers and other individuals and
bodies that have statutory roles to play in the
conduct of the elections at the polling booths,
collation centres and at the offices of the
Independent National Electoral Commission
throughout the election period.