Contrary to earlier disclosed information concerning the attack on troops attached to the Brigade of Guards in the Bwari area of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) by military sources, it appears the Nigerian Army has sent out a search party to find 13 soldiers declared missing in the aftermath of the ambush by the terrorists.
The Presidential Brigade of Guards is primarily tasked with protecting the country’s seat of power, including the Presidential Villa, in Abuja.
The Brigade of Guards which released a cryptic statement confirming the attack, on Monday morning, initially claimed that the incident occurred last Friday, July 22 in the Bwari area of the FCT, and also that the attackers were repelled with the wounded troops evacuated to a military hospital for treatment.
However, multiple sources have now confirmed that 13 troops may have been abducted in the encounter by the terrorists, including the troops’ Commander, Lieutenant Ibrahim Suleiman.
It was learnt that in all, three soldiers who were earlier declared as wounded had died, including Suleiman, along with Captain Samuel Attah and an unnamed soldier in the encounter.
Spokesman of the Guards Brigade, Captain Godfrey Anebi Abakpa, also confirmed that the actual attack occurred on Sunday night.
Meanwhile, the Nigerian Army has reportedly dispatched a search party to find the missing 13 soldiers supposedly abducted by the terrorists in the attack in Bwari.
It would be recalled that a cryptic message sent out by the Brigade of Guards formation reporting the incident, Monday, and ‘Ambush Attack Against Own Troops Of Gds Bde’ read: “At about 241620A Jul 22, own tps of 7 Gds Bn on routine ptl along Rd Kubwa – Bwari were ambushed by suspected terr. 3 x sldrs were injured during the attk. The sldrs have been evacuated to 7 Gds Bn MRS for med attn.
“Details on the extent of their injuries still under cfm. The ambushed attk happening within the gen area of Bwari shows that the terrs are actually within the loc and possibly to carry out their plans of attacking the law schl in Bwari as earlier reported.”
The troops of the elite Guards Brigade were reportedly responding to a distress call from residents of the Law School about an imminent terrorist attack on their institution when they were ambushed by the bandits, said to have laid siege to the school.
The military said the terrorists are believed to have been laying siege to the Bwari area, probably preparing to attack the Nigerian Law School and the headquarters of the Joint and Matriculation Board (JAMB), all located in the area.
The Nigerian Law School is located along the Bwari-Kubwa.
Other intelligence sources corroborated Captain Abakpa’s position, saying: “Troops on routine patrol along Kubwa – Bwari were ambushed by suspected terrorists. Three soldiers were injured during the attack. The soldiers have been evacuated for medical attention.
“Yes, they (troops) were attacked and the attack was successfully repelled. We had a few wounded in action who have been taken to the hospital and are receiving treatments.
“At the moment our troops are still combing the general area to get rid of the criminals that have been threatening the general area. It is advised that residents go about their lawful businesses and keep cooperating with us by giving us timely information to enable us win the fight against the criminals”.
However, another source disclosed: “As at the time of this report, the military is still in vigorous search of the Captain and his 13 other soldiers in the rocky terrain of Bwari; they have neither found them or their dead bodies.
“When the wife of the military officer, Capt. Samuel, who is heavily pregnant, checked on her husband yesterday (Monday) since she couldn’t reach him on the phone, some top military officers convinced her that her husband was on a special duty and he is safe.
“It is important to note that Bwari suburb had witnessed large movements of over hundreds of people suspected to be Fulani herdsmen on over 300 motorbikes a day last year and alarm was raised, but the authority said that there was no cause for fear, that those people were on a legitimate movement.”