Gunmen have seized the Nagwamatse Military Cantonment in Kontagora, headquarters of the Kontagora local government area of Niger State.
Niger State House of Assembly which revealed this on Tuesday, added that the gunmen have also chased away about 23 farming communities within the area.
21st CENTURY CHRONICLE reports that the training camp hosts the largest military training camp in Nigeria, where personnel of the Nigerian Army Artillery Corps are trained.
The Assembly, therefore, urged the State Government to liaise with the military authority to dislodge the terrorists from the training camp.
Moving a motion of urgent public importance brought by the member representing Kontagora II State Constituency, Abdullahi Isah, during plenary on Tuesday, said the military camp, which occupied very large pieces of land extending from Kontagora local government to part of Mariga local government, is now being occupied by the gunmen.
He said “This military camp is now known to have been taken over by terrorists who are said to have established at least eight different camps in the area. The presence of the terrorists on this training camp, which now serves as their haven, has posed a serious security challenge to communities within the camp both in Kontagora and Mariga local government areas”.
The lawmaker recalled that in the last month, communities within the training camp had been attacked by terrorists and abducted some people, adding that the victims were still being held by the gunmen.
After much deliberation, the Assembly urged the State Government to, as a matter of urgency, liaise with the military authority to intensify efforts towards flushing out the terrorists from the training camp, adding that this will allow the host communities to return to their homes.
The Assembly also urged the government to give the military the necessary support towards securing the training camp and restoring peace to the area.
In another development, this newspaper has learnt that troops of the Nigeria Army on Saturday repelled an attack on Wawa Cantonment of the Nigerian Army in Kainji, New Bussa local government area in the State.
The attacked Cantonment is hosting a detention camp where about 1669 Boko Haram suspects awaiting trial were being held by the Federal Government.
The attacked location is about 338km northwest of Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory.
During the attack on the base, the military killed at least two of the aggressors.
“Wawa cantonment was under attack but has been successfully repelled,” said a source, adding that the military had recovered a Hilux van, one Toyota Sienna saloon car wired with bombs, some RPG tubes, and one Anti-aircraft gun from them.
“As we speak now, a QRF (Quick Response Force) team has been in pursuit of some of the fleeing attackers.”
This reporter has sighted gory images of the bodies of suspected terrorists who were killed during the attack, amongst other items recovered from the attackers.
But the Defence Headquarters had dismissed the claim by the Niger State House of Assembly that the Nigerian Army Training Camp in Kontagora had been taken over by bandits or terrorists.
The Director, Defence Media Operations, Maj.-Gen. Edward Buba, in a statement on Wednesday, in Abuja said, “no inch of the training area has been ceded to the terrorist”.
“Firstly, this headquarters seizes the opportunity to unequivocally state that this allegation is incorrect and inaccurate with realities on the ground.
“While, it is understood that troops have recorded encounters with terrorists in the course of operating in the general area, no inch of the training area has been ceded to the terrorist,” he said.
Buba said that troops had constantly eliminated the threat posed by terrorist criss crossing the vast area, adding that their clearance operations in the area had denied the terrorist freedom of action..
According to him, the military is working closely with the Niger State Government to ensure improved security in the state and for the citizens.
“Our troops are not relenting at ensuring total destruction of these terrorists wherever they may be hiding,” he added.
