₦airaland Forum

Valkrie:
Vigilante and volunteers good but leave troops out....once troops set feet in that place it would turn to an endless war...The civilian militia would do a perfect job and drive the idiots out of their town...Atiku did it with hunters and civilian militia with no single troop in his home town and today its history...!! If you want to clean your environment of these vermin just keep the Nigerian security out and you would achieve a 99% victory within the shortest possible time...!!!

Well, Kano was once the Hotspot of this insurgency.
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-30266868.amp

Troops of 1 division cleared the whole of Kano, moving from streets to streets to get rid of the insurgents. Kano has been relatively peaceful ever since.
Another mistake we make is thinking brute force alone win wars. There has to be non-kinetic actions too. Azerbaijan used diplomacy to lobby Russia to end the war with Armenia last year. Yaradua used amnesty to sort out the insurgency in the Niger-delta. Colombian government dialoged with FARC rebels to end the decades long insurgency. US has reached an agreement with taliban to move out of the country, they are currently talking on how the government will be governed when they eventually leave. If all issues are not settled in a war, it will drag on forever and no matter how hard you deal with the enemy, they will always find a way to strike you even when they are at their weakest e.g FACT rebels, Hamas, Libyan crisis etc. Algeria used both kinetic and non-kinetic approach to end terrorism.

Also, it is the actions of vigilantes(yansakai) in zamfara that has resulted in the current banditry problem the northwest is facing.

DubaiLandLord1:
This line is so dam funny sha

If this insecurity issue is happening in a country like Ghana, Kenya or South Africa, Nigerians go dey downgrade this countries say dem dey incompetent

There was a time on the other thread, during the attack in a mall in Kenya, some Nigerians dey talk say Nigeria will never let foreign troops operate on Nigerian soil

See excuse upon excuse for the Nigerian army that have been fighting an insurgency on her territory since 2009. Yet in 2021, the war no get head or tail

No be say ISIS get helicopter or fighter jet o, dem no get artillery etc. in this 2021, a Nigerian army platoon should be able to stand their ground against 80-100 ISIS personnel, this is not 2009,2010,2011,2012,2013,2014 or 2015.

If soldiers are not been rotated as at when due whose fault is that? Is it not the fault of the Nigerian army?

This same soldiers don attack an armless man just because he get Biafra flag for him vehicle, instead of arresting him, take him to a police station for him to be charge to court, if they feel he breaks a law. But they harassed him and destroyed some part of his cars... Issokay

We go dey wait for the Tucanos and this Long Wii Too(abi wetin b d name ) UAV. Make I see the kin foolish excuse them go give again after that.

Blame everyone else but not the individual soldiers. Blame the army or the military as a whole if you like. The soldiers are victims of a failed system too.
A platoon will do that but don't expect miracles when the platoon is barely at half-strength and has been in active combat for 3-4 years.

The wing-loong and Tucanos will change things if high ranking officers allow them to be used effectively but they will not on their own win the war. It is the combination of several advantages that will win the war.

DubaiLandLord1:
Ordinary sighting ISWAP approaching will make dem run for their lifes

Better to run than to be caught and slaughtered, there is no shame in running, especially when you are outnumbered.
The 7 division has never been up to full strength since it was created, they have lost several men to death, diseases and desertion. Majority of the unit are far below strength and those still in active combat status have reached their burnout phase. They should have been rotated out since, many have spent years on the Frontline and while being poorly catered for and equipped at that. The 7 division is responsible for the security of over 16% of Nigeria's land mass in a region with unfavorable terrain, weather and other conditions. They have recovered most of the towns and cities that were under insurgents control just 7 years ago.
It is Nigeria that failed them, not the other way round.

DubaiLandLord1:
The Bauchi State Government has raised an alarm over the influx of suspected Boko Haram fighters in four local government areas of the state that share a border with Geidam, Yobe State which was recently attacked and taken over by the insurgents.

The Secretary to the Bauchi State Government, Sabiu Baba, made this known at a press conference after an emergency security council meeting held at the Government House, Bauchi on Monday and presided over by governor Bala Mohammed.

He said that the suspected terrorists who have infiltrated Zaki, Dambam, Darazo, and Gamawa local government areas have launched an attack on a communication mast belonging to the Mobile TeleCommunication Network and carted away some of the properties.

He said, “There was an emergency security council meeting of Bauchi State this afternoon and the meeting was to look into the attack by Boko Haram in Geidam (Yobe State) and the take over of that town and the implications for Bauchi State.

“Bauchi state is sharing border with Yobe State in four local government areas of Zaki, Dambam, Darazo, and Gamawa. The implications of what has happened in Geidam is that there is a lot of influx of people moving into Bauchi State from Yobe.

It’s wrong to reintegrate ex-terrorists when Boko Haram fighters are still killing people – Dean, Borno Elders’ Forum
“Of course, that will put a lot of strain on our facilities and resources, and considering the kind of movement out of Boko Haram activities, the security implications there are also very high.

“The meeting today was to discuss the implications of that, identify the security threats and how to contain them from the Bauchi side.”

“Security is the collective duty of all and we do not expect the security agencies alone to tackle this problem, so all hands must be on deck including traditional and religious leaders and all groups.

“It will be expected that we will continue to profile whoever is coming into the state. I can tell you that some people coming into the state, come in with weapons and it is the profiling that will help us stem that kind of problem.”

SOURCE

The governor of the state should organize vigilantes and other volunteers, get the support of FG to deploy some troops and swing into action before terrorists come back. I believe it is a raid for resources but the terrorists will come back for more and when they realize that it is relatively safer for them, they will start settling down there. He doesn't have any excuse, Kwara state governor is currently doing that to fight kidnappers and bandits in his state and it is so far achieving results.

But then, what sorts of equipments are the terrorists looting from telecommunications mast? Communication equipment or power generating equipment?

Whyem15:
The attention of the Defence Headquarters is drawn to numerous publications in the media and other online blogs reporting massive killing and destruction of houses and other property by the military in Konshisha LGA of Benue State. The Defence Headquarters which has oversight responsibility for Operation WHIRL STROKE deployed to maintain peace in Benue, Nasarawa and Taraba States, has deemed it necessary to refute these spurious allegations and put the records straight.

There have been incessant cases of communal clashes in recent times between the people of Konshisha and Oju over boundary demarcation. As part of efforts to resolve the crisis, the Benue State Government held series of meetings with stakeholders from both local governments with a view to arriving at amicable solution to the problem. Appreciable progress has been made and a final date fixed for all stakeholders to meet in the disputed areas to fully demarcate the boundary so that peace could reign. Trouble however started on the eve of the final meeting during Easter holiday, with reports that fresh fighting has broken out in the area.

All along, 72 Special Forces Battalion has troops deployed on the Oju side of the boundary and troops of the Battalion were on their way to replenish their colleagues on 5 April 2021, when they were attacked by armed bandits at Bonta in Konshisha. The troops who were under command of a Captain were seized at a checkpoint mounted by the so called “Bonta Boys” and taken into Konshisha forest where they were all brutally murdered. Not satisfied with killing the soldiers, the bandits proceeded to burn all the eleven soldiers and their officer beyond recognition while their weapons and ammunition were carted away. Military reinforcements were dispatched to Bonta the following morning. Unfortunately, the reinforcement also came under attack from close to 500 armed youths who by this time had fully occupied Bonta. The sheer number of youths involved in the attacks suggests that the armed bandits cannot be from Bonta alone, but were joined by bandits from other parts of Konshisha LGA. The military repelled the attack after more than 4 hours of intense fighting during which military helicopter provided close air support to ground troops. Ten armed bandits were killed during the fight with the rifle of one of the Killed in action soldiers recovered from the bandits who fell casualty during the exchange of fire......

https://defenceinfo.mil.ng/update-on-situation-in-konshisha-local-government-area-of-benue-state/

The problem now is determining whether 72 SF battalion is the same or related to 72 MSF. 72 SF battalion has been existing for a long time though, it was formerly 72 paratroopers battalion.


Part of what made the 72 MSF very effective was that they had their own dedicated air components. That was when the gazelles and some other aircrafts were rented.

Covert1:
Please give us any citation of their recent activity in the Borno theater of operations. We all know where they are or were based. The 72 MSF had been in existence long before the AFSF which was created as a matter of exigency by the former CDS General Gabriel Olonishakin. Today there's a proliferation of many army special forces units across the north east used as the spear.

The guys here know the 72nd no longer operates in the North East in the mould it did under the administration of President Goodluck Jonathan. Then BHTs occupied large swathes of territory and the 72nd was prominent in dislodging them. Today a different dynamic exists in theater and the commanders have since adjusted. There's no recent evidence of the AFSF operating as it did under General Olonishakin rather these units operate more independently across the theater. The Nigerian Army has multiple Special Forces.

The attention of the Defence Headquarters is drawn to numerous publications in the media and other online blogs reporting massive killing and destruction of houses and other property by the military in Konshisha LGA of Benue State. The Defence Headquarters which has oversight responsibility for Operation WHIRL STROKE deployed to maintain peace in Benue, Nasarawa and Taraba States, has deemed it necessary to refute these spurious allegations and put the records straight.

There have been incessant cases of communal clashes in recent times between the people of Konshisha and Oju over boundary demarcation. As part of efforts to resolve the crisis, the Benue State Government held series of meetings with stakeholders from both local governments with a view to arriving at amicable solution to the problem. Appreciable progress has been made and a final date fixed for all stakeholders to meet in the disputed areas to fully demarcate the boundary so that peace could reign. Trouble however started on the eve of the final meeting during Easter holiday, with reports that fresh fighting has broken out in the area.

All along, 72 Special Forces Battalion has troops deployed on the Oju side of the boundary and troops of the Battalion were on their way to replenish their colleagues on 5 April 2021, when they were attacked by armed bandits at Bonta in Konshisha. The troops who were under command of a Captain were seized at a checkpoint mounted by the so called “Bonta Boys” and taken into Konshisha forest where they were all brutally murdered. Not satisfied with killing the soldiers, the bandits proceeded to burn all the eleven soldiers and their officer beyond recognition while their weapons and ammunition were carted away. Military reinforcements were dispatched to Bonta the following morning. Unfortunately, the reinforcement also came under attack from close to 500 armed youths who by this time had fully occupied Bonta. The sheer number of youths involved in the attacks suggests that the armed bandits cannot be from Bonta alone, but were joined by bandits from other parts of Konshisha LGA. The military repelled the attack after more than 4 hours of intense fighting during which military helicopter provided close air support to ground troops. Ten armed bandits were killed during the fight with the rifle of one of the Killed in action soldiers recovered from the bandits who fell casualty during the exchange of fire......

https://defenceinfo.mil.ng/update-on-situation-in-konshisha-local-government-area-of-benue-state/

kabe1:
All these equipment would result to nothing if the troops to man them are poorly trained and organized.

It's not rocket science, it's not about buying equipment.

Just this week, we saw brand new MRAPs, not yet driven captured by the insurgents. Not only did they capture them, they went on to attack and dislodge an outpost defended by a T-55 and BTR-4E.

I honestly pray it's training Sha, because that can be rectified almost instantly once we are ready. There are several contractors around the world offering very efficient training for a little bit of money. In fact, if we beg well, US/UK will be willing to train our recruits for free for some time.
But my concern and query being lack of motivation, lack of trust between troops and officers and very low morale can ruin the army forever if not quickly tackled from the root cause.

The weapons are deliberately being abandoned!!
The terrorists are far more ill-trained and far more ill-equipped than NA troops yet you hardly see them abandoning important assets. From the video NAF released of the attack on marte, you could even see them trying to tow some of their guntrucks that could still be repaired away even while NAF assets were hovering overhead.

#PressRelease #DHQUpdate

OPERATION LAFIYA DOLE: NAF HELICOPTER GUNSHIPS DESTROY 6 ADDITIONAL GUN TRUCKS, NEUTRALIZE SEVERAL TERRORISTS ATTEMPTING REINFORCEMENT AT MARTE IN BORNO STATE https://t.co/TcS6jnxdGK pic.twitter.com/NYHkrQlsOv

— DEFENCE HQ NIGERIA (@DHQNigeria) January 17, 2021

Exactly 1:16

The war has continued for far too long and some officers and other powerful people have made fortunes while troops sacrifice their lives on the frontlines. It started with civilians "advising" soldiers not to sacrifice their lives for some people's pockets on social media, now we are reaping the effects.
Dasuki and others with overwhelming evidence against them are walking freely while colleagues of troops on the frontlines are six feet underground when they are lucky. Some were just left to rot away where they died. There are several who fought and are now handicapped/impaired and what for?

Shoodboi:
Saw this online...

According to the news report featuring the photo, NA killed some top BH commanders, so it appears that the vehicles were seized from BH.

The vehicle is an Otokar Cobra with the tires removed and mounted on a truck.

Why would BH do this?

Would this crude but ingenious weapon serve any purpose on the battlefield?

These were fabricated by the army, not BH.

SamuelAnyawu:
Thanks for checking up on me bro.

It will be hard for ISWAP or BH to do a major damage on Maiduguri. It’s a really big town.

I arrived Maiduguri this morning

Thank God Insurgents don’t have MANPADS.

Make I sleep better sleep today

Oh great. They may or may not attack maiduguri but if they ever do, it will be to cause destructions and wreak havoc. Just like the attack in February.

SamuelAnyawu, you might consider a change in the location you will be hibernating. Rumors of maiduguri being the next big target. ISWAP plans to attack Jakana and Ngamdu in coming days. You may consider going to Gombe for now.

SamuelAnyawu:
1) NCOs have lost interest in this war. They believe it is being run by their Oga’s and Federal Government as financial conduit pipes.

2) I can see several Soldiers having small kg of gas for their personal cooking. Is the Military Budget also for feeding of staff or not.

3) We have poor communication equipment. In 2018 ISWAP used this same Mainok pattern to run over several bases in the Northeast.

4) what is the salary of a General in the Army to own Buildings worth over a Billion Naira as personal asset.

In most soldiers words “ Baba na to do my own leave here oh, this war no Dey end”

During attacks Most NCOs flee from the trench at the first gunshot from BH. I remember when I visited an NCO friend at a military hospital in Maiduguri. He said they were engaging Bokoharam with their Guntruck before he could say Jack Robinson his Gunner jumped and ran away before he could position to take over the AA he was hit by a bullet.

The Military Generals, Defence ministry etc are enjoying the Financial benefit from this war.

It’s just a pity NCOs and mid range Officers are paying the supreme price.

What’s the price of a small little Chinese drone that military can procure to ensure every-outpost tango in the community has one? Even photographers are now using two Chinese drones.

I have not seen Cameroonians here using Toyota guntrucks. Most of their personnel use APCs as standard.

Like a Major friend here will always tell me “Baba if e set make e no be you go be casualty’’

In summary, the situation is the way it is because they want it to be the way it is.

And that NCOs will continue to abandon positions and weapons as they no longer have trust in officers.

I have a few observations, many high ranking officers in the army today have been deployed on combat duties in the North east before, now that they have the opportunity to change things, what is stopping them?

As for the camp gas for cooking, I learnt the military started paying feeding allowance directly to troops in the Frontline after several allegations of officers embezzling the money meant for troops to feed.
It almost resulted into mutiny then. I can't independently verify the story Sha.

SamuelAnyawu, you have good relationship with some officers in the north east, please help ask what exactly is wrong.

Odunayaw:
The US would rather place Africom in the Horn of Africa. What significance does WA have to the US

The president of Nigeria asking for the relocation of the HQ to Africa implies he is begging US to help him and at whatever cost at that.

Odunayaw:
Exactly. This is one reason why I stopped formulating ideas. If I could think it, there are men in better positions that have thought it too.

It is tiring

Men whose lives are at risk and are somewhat in position to change things. For example, the Lt.Col that died recently. He was responsible for the defense of the town. He neglected a lot and ended up paying with his life.

Just imagine that most of the present chiefs served in the north east. They can't tell anyone they do not know the problems. Why haven't they found solutions?
I believe the silence of DSS is also intentional.

Xbee007:
Buhari wants USAFRICOM relocated from Germany to West Africa.

https://www.thecable.ng/breaking-buhari-seeks-relocation-of-us-africa-command-headquarters-from-germany-over-insecurity

He did not ask for them to support the war by using the drones and ISR in Niger, Cameroon and other countries in Africa but asking for the relocation of the HQ to Nigeria? .
I'm just tired.

I know he didn't mention Nigeria specifically but that is what is implied.

Odunayaw:
If I were the COAS/CDS, I'd commence a simultaneous training for fresh NCOs and rotation for every soldier/NCO in the deep space for the next three months.

In the mean time I'd stand up platoons or a company in every battalion/brigade that'd serve as shock troops. You'd notice every time the NA goes on the offensive, it takes a long time to muster up due to the size of the force and the likes. But what is needed is relentless domination of the battle space, if it isn't deep into the battle space, at least at the peripherals of each Super camp.

This shock troop will be self sustained for at least 7 days patrol at a time.


This war has seen many phases of adaptation by the enemy. However the most prominent reason why these beasts have time to adapt is the NA's allowance of time and space

They know what to do, they just don't want to do it.
Even laymen know what is required.

Faithful007:
Question is, can Nigeria do it?

Nigeria can very well do it, but Nigeria will not do it. They will instead prefer to buy equipment that are not urgently needed.

DubaiLandLord:
This is not possible.

In matters of National emergency, it is very possible to halt all non-essential findings to finance the military.
This isn't even a case of funding, it is just a silly excuse.

DubaiLandLord:
Nigerian military was not the only military in Liberia and Sierra Leone.

Was the performance of the Nigerian army like this in Sierra Leone and Liberia?


It isn't only Nigerian army in the north east too, we have Niger, Chad and Cameroon too.

Countries with far greater landmass but far fewer numbers of troops perform far better than thee NA against armed groups.

It is very deliberate.

DubaiLandLord:
Is going to cost us millions of dollars to take care and equip those 20k soldiers you're talking about.

And we don't have the millions of dollars

DubaiLandLord:
Why should another division be created again Niger state should be under 1 division or 3 division, let one of those divisions handle Niger state so as not to overstretche 8 division which is even performing woefully in is area of operation.

Only one division cater for Sokoto, Kebbi, Zamfara and Kwara. Very large expanse of land with compromised security already.

Gwoza was the former capital of Bokoharam, the military captured it. There is nothing special about Gudzamala that it can't be captured. The only problem is having troops to hold it and they have deliberately done nothing about that.

They know what to do, they are not just doing it.

Whoever is in charge of logistics should be jailed for negligence of duty. Don't be surprised is the incident repeats itself.

NAF should resume air interdiction, NA isn't ready to continue with the offensive and there is nothing stopping the terrorists from planning and organizing attacks. No attack on their logistics and so on and we expect them not to pull together 50 guntrucks to attack poorly defended bases.

Niger state can be handled by 8 division though it will be wise to create another division in that angle.

Stop making the overstretched excuse for the army, they can easily recruit 20k people, train them in 6 months or less and deploy them. Get emergency funds for weapons and other things.

The actions of NA are deliberate, 1997 they were in Liberia, 2002 they were in Sierra Leone. 2006 they were still fighting militants in the Niger delta.
I have seen NA deploy in times of crisis. They are not naive to warfare, they are deliberately sabotaging the war.

DaddyGoo:
And how do you protect the associated transmission network?

Because you still need one, albeit scaled down.

Remember it is "high tension" pylons they have been bringing down to cause the darkness in the first place.

Each city has its own power plant so there is no need to transmit outside the towns.
Something like the rural electrification project.

There's a huge difference between the counterinsurgency operations in Syria and Iraq and that of Nigeria.

It takes months at times for defenses of some cities to be broken because they have multilayered defenses. Here in Nigeria, NA sets a thin line of defense and once that is broken, that's the end of the defense of the town.
If they must be defensive, they should do it properly. They should send some officers to those countries to learn counterinsurgency warfare.

JohnEagle96:
Nigeria army Comms has been compromised, intelligence brigade needs to step in .
by the way is there no confirmation of target , to determine their properties, characters, before strike ? am confused o @toju200,whyhem15

The error isn't from NAF, it's from the army. Years ago I watched a video of troops preparing to storm a terrorist hideout and they were attaching large yellow fabrics to the top and sides of their vehicles because they were expecting air support and would want to be differentiated from the terrorists.
Before leaving air base, pilots have briefings and are told the situation of things where they will be going. Even if the pilots hadn't attacked them, there is a very high probability that the troops on ground in the location they were reinforcing will attack them as they were just attacked by a convoy of similar appearance. The reinforcing troops should have radioed in. Maybe they did and it is the team being reinforced that was negligent. Maybe due to the death of their commanding officer they lost coordination anyway it is, it an accident and a defeat in a war of many battles, make your peace with that and accept the loss, these things happen in wars.
What is excruciating is the fact that this isn't the first time the terrorists will be disguising as troops to attack garrisons. I think the first time was in 2017. Even after more than 4 times it has been used against the army, they may still not change anything.
Another thing is that NA and NAF are too predictable NA holds a line till NAF comes in, fire a few rockets and cannons, maybe drops a bomb and then returns to base and the attack is repelled. They are only setting themselves up for more disasters. Whoever thinks the terrorists will keep attacking the same way must be very foolish. They have been harassed by NAF for far too long for them to have started using MANPADS, thankfully they haven't gotten their hands on those.
The recent attack on Geidam showed them mixing up with the local population, assuring them of safety while using them as humanshields.
The attack on Damasak featured the terrorists laying low immediately they gained access into the town to prevent NAF from striking them only for them to strike very early in the morning.
The video NAF released of the attack on marte showed the terrorists lying in trenches to hide from the aircrafts till it returns back to base, thankfully their heat signatures were picked up.
The terrorists have been observed several times attempting to reduce the heat signature of their guntrucks, thankfully they've been largely unsuccessful with that.
Prior to NAF getting night attack capability, they were attacking at nights.
The terrorists keep learning and adapting, changing strategies every time while NA last chafed it's strategy in 2018.
While most brigadier generals and Lt. Col are in charge of defending garrisoned towns, is there anyone in charge of attacking the terrorists?

The good side to this war is that the Nigerian military is learning albeit slowly. Unless they are totally crazy, another insurgency/war won't be as successful as this.
If not for this insurgency, the military will still be as it was in 2008. Between the beginning of the insurgency and now, there's been huge changes.

Everything we've discussed in this forum over the years were key to this disaster. Lack of communications, lack of situational awareness, lack of coordination, siting in bases waiting for the terrorists to come attack so that you can repel etc.
The damage has been done, the next thing to do is to find solutions.
Ordinarily, all the troops involved in the battle should be redeployed, they are no longer fit for combat and in need of psychological help.

Communication would have prevented the airstrike on reinforcing troops but may not have prevented the terrorists from disguising as troops to get close enough to wreck havoc. Forcing the enemy to be on defense would have prevented most of this though.
Things are changing in NA but far too slow to see the war over anytime soon.

The PR they will be crazy this week but PR won't get them anything other than a few more recruits and humiliation for the Nigerian army (sadly you can't shame the shameless). A Lt. Col died in the attack, may his soul and those of the others rest in peace.

Until we stop giving them opportunity to rest after every attack, they will keep coming. Supercamps are good but will only result in huge casualties without a strike force.

Another important thing is that they are developing more strategies to counter air support. They seem to pretend as if they've been repelled, wait for the aircrafts to return to base and then attack again.

cutievik:
My brother, imagine techniques!!!!! Disguise d as friendly troops. Na wa o

Lack of communications. Luker4long has always been saying it here. Hopefully, they will learn.

cutievik:
Seems the new Mraps were ambushed..na wo ooo

Joscofelix how far na?

I don't have any information concerning that or even the attack. It will be painful if true but still doesn't change anything.

It is now very clear they are attacking the lesser manned garrisons to loot the armory in preparation for another push on Damasak. They should better deploy another battalion from another division to help defend Damasak.

There is no supercamp in mainok.