Kingsley Nwezeh in Abuja
One soldier attached to the 102 Battalion was killed when Boko Haram terrorists attacked a military checkpoint around Zuma Rock Resort, near Madalla, a few meters from Zuba in the outskirts of Abuja Thursday night.
The attack is coming after the killing last week of some presidential guards by rampaging terrorists in Bwari.
But in a swift response, the troops, in a joint operation with the Nigerian Air Force, killed 30 terrorists in the same location.
The checkpoint, close to the Abuja-Kaduna highway, was attacked by the terrorists at about 7p.m.
The insurgents opened fire on the checkpoint as soon as they arrived, killing one soldier.
A competent security source confirmed the death of the unnamed soldier.
“They took control of the area for about 30 minutes and kept on shooting before heading towards Kaduna axis of the expressway,” the source said.
THISDAY gathered that more soldiers and policemen were later deployed to the area to take charge of proceedings.
The attack comes amid heightened tension in the nation’s capital over likely terrorist attacks.
At a briefing in Abuja Defence Headquarters had affirmed that the military high command remained committed to the protection of the seat of power and the rest of the country.
“The hierarchy of the Armed Forces of Nigeria and other security agencies wish to re-assured Nigerians of its commitment and pact with all Nigerians.
“With the recent operations carried out from July 23, we wish to assure residents of FCT in particular that we are undaunted and unrelenting in our efforts to ensure the safety of lives and property.
“People should go about their normal business as their safety is guaranteed.
“The support and cooperation of all Nigerians is hereby solicited as security is everybody’s business. Citizens are encouraged to report any unusual persons in your community to security agencies. If you see something say something,” the immediate past Director, Defence Media Operations (DDMO), Maj Gen Bernard Onyeuko, said.
In his remarks at the briefing, the Director Defence Information (DDI), Maj. Gen. Jimmy Akpor, urged the media to continue to support the military in ensuring that the enemies of the nation were defeated.
But the National Security Adviser, Maj. Gen. Babagana Monguno (rtd), said at a briefing after the last security meeting that the country was in a “very difficult situation”.
He said that President Muhammadu Buhari was aware of people’s concerns about the growing insecurity, adding that Nigerians were tired and gravitating towards self-help.
“Today’s meeting was convened by the President, as a continuation of the meeting that took place last week to discuss the technical issues and the tasks that were given to the various security agencies. The meeting deliberated on all those issues, after the brief by the National Security Adviser, which is usually the procedure. Again, Council deemed it necessary to inform the general public that fighting this type of asymmetric conflict is a collective effort. It’s not something that should be confined to only the security, intelligence and law enforcement agencies,” he said.
“When we keep saying whole of society approach, whole of government approach, to get a whole of nation approach, what it means is that everybody has to partake in this enterprise. The truth is that no country can ever overcome the difficulties of an asymmetric conflict by virtue of the fact that the enemy of the state is embedded within the population within the wider society.
“It is true that the local people are averse, they are scared, they are worried and there’s no confidence. That is understandable. But without their support and without the cooperation in terms of giving information, it makes it very hard for the operational elements.
“A few days ago, troops of the Guards Brigade were ambushed and decimated. Had there been a collective effort by way of just snippets of information we might have averted that incident,” he said.
