Chief of Army Staff, Lt.-Gen. Tukur Buratai, said the death of three military personnel on Monday in Borno was a “wake-up call’’ to further strategise to defeat terrorists.
He stated this at the burial of Lt-Col. Ibrahim Aminu, Cpl. Jibril Ahmadu and Lance Cpl. Tijjani Mohammed, at the Maimalari Cantonment Cemetery, in Maiduguri, Borno State, yesterday.
The Commanding Officer, 145 Task Force Battalion, Aminu and the two soldiers died on Monday when, during patrol, their vehicle ran over an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) planted by Boko Haram insurgents.
The device exploded.
The incident occurred at Mauli-Borgozo axis, in Kaga Local Government Area of Borno state.
Buratai said: “This threat, IEDs, is real, but, we are taking all measures to ensure that we counter it. “The challenge that we are having in the North East has always been enemy action, either through encounter or IED being exploded on our troops, and today’s (yesterday’s) burial is one of those incidents that involve IED.
“This is a situation that will require us to be vigilant at all times and to ensure that we protect ourselves from this menace of the IEDs.’’ He described the death of the officer and soldiers as “highly unfortunate and regrettable.
“Today (Yesterday), it is with heavy heart that we bury our colleagues who paid the supreme sacrifice in course of duty.
“It is a great loss; we will miss them.
“Let me pay my condolences to the families of the late lieutenant-colonel and two soldiers, and, indeed, all of us –officers and men of Operation Lafiya Dole and the Nigerian army,’’ Buratai said.