Islamist militants riding motorbikes stormed an army base near Nigeria’s northeastern border with Chad, killing a commanding officer and six other soldiers late on Sunday, just days after the military lost a brigade commander in another attack in Borno State . The Nigerian Army confirmed that Colonel I.A. Mohammed, Commanding Officer of the 242 Battalion in Monguno, was killed when his vehicle struck an improvised explosive device while he was proceeding to reinforce troops under attack . The military said the base commander had been weeks from retirement, and that troops successfully repelled the terrorists following a heavy gunfire exchange, with at least 12 militants killed during the battle . The attack was carried out by members of Boko Haram and its splinter group, the Islamic State West Africa Province, according to military sources .
The Army’s statement, issued by Lieutenant Colonel Sani Uba, Media Information Officer of Operation HADIN KAI, praised the commanding officer’s courage, stating that his willingness to move towards troops “in the heat of the battle, despite the prevailing danger, stands as a profound testament to his valour, selfless service, and leading from the front” . The incident occurred in the late hours of April 12, when troops of Sector 3 came under an “isolated Tango terrorist attack” on Charlie 13 location in Monguno . Following intense fire exchanges, the terrorists were put to flight, with troops maintaining control of the location, the Army said . The military added that it “deeply mourns the loss of this exceptional officer and the other brave personnel who paid the supreme price in service to the nation” .
The Monguno attack comes less than a week after Brigadier General Oseni Braimah, Commander of the 29th Task Force Brigade, was killed during a deadly assault on a military base in Benisheikh, Kaga Local Government Area of Borno State . In that attack, which occurred around 12:30am on Thursday, suspected Boko Haram and ISWAP fighters launched simultaneous assaults on multiple military positions, with survivors describing the scale and coordination as unprecedented . A soldier who survived the Benisheikh attack told reporters: “We are used to coordinated attacks, but this was different. They came in large numbers from different directions at the same time. It felt like they had studied our positions for weeks” . The two attacks in less than a week have raised fresh questions about the military’s ability to contain the 17-year insurgency.
