Army Chief To Visit Niger State After Jet Crash, Ambush On Troops

Chief of Army Staff, Lt-Gen Taoreed Lagbaja

The Chief of Army Staff, Lt-Gen Taoreed Lagbaja will be visiting Wushishi in Niger State following an ambush by bandits which resulted in troop casualties on Monday.

Unconfirmed reports are suggesting the bandits may have caused a Nigerian Air Force aircraft crash. The Air Force hasn’t yet addressed these claims.

The Director of Army Public Relations, Brig. Gen. Onyema Nwachukwu in a chat with Punch confirmed troop casualties but declined to provide specifics.

He emphasized the importance of focusing on the families of the affected troops, saying, “Attention should be on the families of the troops left behind and not the number of troops killed.”

He also mentioned the Army Chief’s visit is to boost troop morale.

He said, “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 was on an operational tour of the North-West Operations theatre for an on-the-spot assessment and reinvigoration of ongoing operations. He is currently headed to the affected formation to encourage the troops.”