The Nigerian Army has confirmed recording casualties in an ambush staged against gallant troops by bandits in Niger State.
This is as the Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant General Taoreed Lagbaja, has cut short his operational tour of the North-West theatre of operation and headed to Niger State in the North-Central to encourage the troops.
The Director, Army Public Relations, Brig-Gen Onyema Nwachukwu, while confirming the incident, said the gallant soldiers fought through the ambush but with some servicemen paying the supreme price.
He stated this while reacting to reports that the NAF MI-17 helicopter, which crashed on Monday afternoon near Chukuba village in Niger State, was carrying wounded soldiers to the hospital before the crash.
The social media was awash with images and heartbreaking videos of Nigerian soldiers killed by bandits over the weekend.
He confirmed that the soldiers entered an ambush in Wushishi local government area of Niger State.
He added that the Chief of Army Staff, Lt.-Gen Lagbaja, was on an operational tour of the North-West theatre of operations when the incident happened.
He said the COAS has consequently moved to the affected formation to encourage the troops and called on Nigerians to support families of the fallen patriots.
“I can confirm that there was an incident in Wushishi LG of Niger state. Our gallant patriots paid the supreme price when they ran into an ambush staged by insurgents. They were courageous till the end. They stood their ground and defended our great country with their lives. The focus now is how to console and bring respite to those they left behind. Sadly, the incident occurred while the Chief of Army Staff is on an operational tour of the North-West theatre for an on-the-spot assessment and reinvigoration of ongoing operations. He has currently headed to the affected formation to encourage the troops,” the Army spokesman stated.