Three soldiers of the Nigerian Army were on Monday morning killed in a firefight with suspected terrorists who attacked a military base in the Kemanji community of Kaiama LGA of Kwara state.
AbdulRahman AbdulRazak, governor of Kwara, confirmed the incident on Monday evening in a post shared on his page, commiserating with families of the victims.
“At about 3 a.m. today, our gallant soldiers courageously beat back a terrorists’ attack on their position in Kemanji, Kaiama. Many of the terrorists were neutralised by the gallant troops,” he wrote.
“Our brave men not only repelled the terrorists and prevented them from accessing the community, but they also ensured that no one was kidnapped as the terrorists had intended.
“In the course of repelling the attack, we lost three courageous men. My sincere condolences are with the families and loved ones of these great men who have paid the supreme price in the service of our fatherland.
“We will never forget them and others like them in various theatres across the country.”
The governor said the state government would continue to support families of the deceased, adding that no resource would be spared to protect lives and property.
The attack came days after a colonel and six soldiers of the Nigerian Army were killed by terrorists in Borno.
The commander and his men were responding to an overnight terrorist attack on a military formation in Monguno.
In a statement last Monday, Sani Uba, media information officer of the north-east joint task force, said insurgents launched the attack on Sunday night on troops at the Charlie 13 location.
On April 8, Oseni Braimah, a brigadier-general, and three other soldiers were also killed by terrorists in Benisheikh, Borno state.
In a statement, Michael Onoja, director of defence media operations at the Defence Headquarters (DHQ), said the “coordinated terrorist attack” occurred around 12:30 am.
