At least 10 soldiers and four civilians are feared dead following a coordinated assault by suspected Boko Haram and Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) terrorists on a military base in Mairari, Borno State.
The attack, which took place last Tuesday, occurred in the Guzamala Local Government Area, roughly 120 to 130 kilometers north of the state capital, Maiduguri.
According to credible security sources, the insurgents stormed the military formation in large numbers, engaging troops in a fierce, hours-long gunbattle.
While troops reportedly fought back valiantly and neutralized scores of attackers, the terrorists ultimately inflicted heavy casualties and caused significant destruction to military hardware, including gun trucks and operational vehicles belonging to both troops and the Civilian Joint Task Force (CJTF).
“More than 10 soldiers and four civilians have reportedly been killed after suspected fighters of the Islamic State-backed faction attacked the military formation,” a security source revealed on the condition of anonymity.
Ali Bukar Mairari, a resident who fled the scene, corroborated the accounts, stating that more than 11 people were killed and multiple operational vehicles were set ablaze during the raid.
Hon. Lawan Sheriff, the Executive Chairman of Guzamala, confirmed the attack occurred, though he withheld specific casualty figures.
Information regarding the incident experienced significant delays in reaching the public domain due to a total lack of telecommunication networks in the remote region.
The assault on Mairari follows another recent security breach in the wider Lake Chad region, where terrorists reportedly seized more than 40 locally made fishing boats from fishermen in Tumbun Barebari, an area known as Abujan Ruwa.
Mairari holds strategic importance as one of the few towns in the area to survive multiple Boko Haram onslaughts, having temporarily served as the headquarters of the Guzamala Area Council after terrorists captured the official headquarters in Gudumbali.
The continued insurgent stronghold in Gudumbali remains a source of frustration for local leaders.
The Speaker of the Borno State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Abdulkarim Lawan, who hails from Guzamala, has repeatedly decried the inability of security agencies to reclaim the council headquarters, though his appeals have yet to yield the desired military action.
Efforts to obtain an official statement from the Borno State Police Public Relations Officer, ASP Kenneth Daso, were unsuccessful, as calls and messages went unanswered at the time of reporting.
The military high command has not yet released an official casualty toll or a formal statement regarding the Mairari incident as security operations and reinforcement efforts continue in the troubled northern fringes of Lake Chad.
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