600 Specially Trained Soldiers To Be Deployed To Damboa

Six hundred specially trained commandos would be deployed in the troubled area of Damboa, Borno State, according to the leadership of the Nigerian military.

According to a security source, the military personnel were specially trained within the country for the purpose of strengthening the security presence in Damboa, which is considered as one of the most volatile areas in the North-East.

The specially trained forces will be send to the area to replace some of the soldiers with affected morale in the area.

It was gathered that the military and the soldiers deployed in that part of Borno State had become very skeptical about the sincerity of the people following the ambushing and killing of an army officer, who was commanding the troop.

"The morale of the troops is seriously affected, with the killing of their commander and there is the need to prevent them from acting irrationally, to boost their morale," the source said.

According to the Punch, the leadership of the military was shocked that the lieutenant-colonel who was on mission to convince the people to prevail on the insurgents to embrace peace could be killed in an ambush by the same people he was protecting.

"The officer, who was killed went there to protect the integrity of the nation. Being a Muslim, he had to tell them they were damaging the image of the North. He led that soft approach, to plead with the leaders to talk to them about the importance of peace, and to warn anybody who refused would be dealt with," the source added.

It was revealed that the Federal Government had embarked on massive procurement of military hardware from the United States and Russia to address the incessant Boko Haram attacks in the North-East.

The government had also imported 40 helicopter gunships and mine-resistant tanks from the US and Russia. They are expected to arrive the country first week of August.