LAGOS 9TH (URHOBOTODAY)- The newly installed Emir of Gwoza, Mohammed Timta is reportedly missing as Boko Haram invaded Gwoza town in Borno State killing hundred of civilians and soldiers.
An ambulance belonging to 213 battalion is stationed in Mubi Sahara Reporters Media Some units of the Nigerian Army 213 battalion, Operation Task Force Mike and 234 battalion, which attempted to retake Gwoza Township from Islamist militant Boko Haram, beat a hasty retreat on Thursday night as the militants showed superior firepower, SaharaReporters has learned.
The soldiers were reported to have been led into the battle by Lieutenant BMG Martins and Lt. Colonel Agu of the 234 Battalion, formerly Special Operations Battalion (SOB), but they were given the surprise of their lives when they ran into stiff resistance from the militants as they advanced on Gwoza from the Madagali axis.
The soldiers retreated but the militants set off in hot pursuit, chased them and snatched one of their tanks as well as the driver of the tank. They then called the soldier’s wife and informed her that her husband was in captivity.
Col. Agu has himself not been since then.
An Abuja-based relative of the Emir told SaharaReporters that neither he nor other members of the family had been able to establish contact with the traditional ruler, whose father and predecessor, Shehu Mustapha Idris Timta, was killed on May 30, 2014 by the same Boko Haram sect as he was on his way to Gombe State to attend the funeral of the late Emir of Gombe, Shehu Abubakar. The relative said he had been unable to reach any member of the family except those who reside in Maiduguri. “None of them has any idea about where the emir is,” he said.
It is the second time in 24 hours that Nigerians soldiers were defeated by Boko Haram in an attempt to retake Gwoza. The army had recently retaken Damoboa, over two weeks after Boko Haram overran the town and planted its flag.
Nigerian army sources in Abuja said that following the attack, they have yet to find Lt. Col Agu. They further confirmed that about three military alpha jets have been deployed to the area to assist in the rescue of soldiers who might be trapped in mountains surrounding Gwoza.
Military sources blame the Brigade commander for asking the contingent to withdraw from Gwoza after they made contact with the terrorists, adding that the hasty retreat emboldened Boko Haram militants to chase and kill the soldiers during the unusual retreat.
Source: Saharareporters