Troops re-occupy Yobe town after Boko Haram attack

The Army says its troops had re-occupied Jilli in Yobe State and began to spread across the area after Boko Haram terrorists attacked their location in the town on July 14.
Giving an update on the attack on Tuesday in Maiduguri, the Theatre Commander, Maj.-Gen. Nicholas Roger, assured that the situation in and around the town had been brought under control.
Speaking with Defence correspondents, Roger described the attack as “unfortunate’’ but added that such incident was common in an asymmetric operations.
“In most asymmetric operations such as this, incessant attacks by insurgents are not uncommon development across the universe.
“Where there are insurgencies, you see different forms of attack, including the use of IEDs and other things.
“So, what happened in Jilli is not uncommon with military operations,’’ the theatre commander said.
Roger admitted that the army suffered some casualties in the Jilli attack but declined to give figure.
“Details of the attack in Jilli will be made known in due course as security situation warrants,’’ he said, adding that one of “our trucks was burnt.
According to him, the incident is being investigated.
On the attack on troops at Bama in Borno, Roger restated that the army did not lose any personnel but that only officer and one soldier suffered injuries in the attack.
“I re-emphasis that again, we did not lose any soldier in Bama,’’ he said.
Roger appealed to the media to exercise caution when reporting military operations, especially in the North-East, saying that publishing without verification was unprofessional.
“I want also to let the media know that military operations are normally of strategic and national security value and the media need to be very cautious when reporting some of the developments.
“It has national security implications. We must understand that, we have to put the interest of the nation above other interests.
“When the media report some terrible figures without confirming them, I think it is unprofessional.
“There is need for the media to always verify some information from the military before making publications,’’ he said.
One of the foreign news agencies reported on Sunday that many soldiers went missing after the Jilli attack by the terrorists, while a number of military trucks were either damaged or carted away.
But the army denied the claim.
Jilli is a border town between Yobe and Borno and links Niger Republic.
The commander reassured the people of the North-East that the region was safe for them to go about their normal businesses as long as they remained law abiding.
He said the Chief of Army Staff, Lt.-Gen. Tukur Buratai, and his team had been in the theatre of operation, assessing operational development in the North-East.
Roger said that the army chief had reviewed and given new strategies to improve on security in the region.