Boko Haram and the Islamic State for West African Province (ISWAP) fighters have killed 2,368 soldierd in 500 attacks on military bases and formations of the Multi-national Joint Task Force (MNJTF) from 2015 and 2020.
A research findings by the European Peace Facility (EPF), a European Union project for peace support operations across the globe, has revealed.
The findings was presented by a Researcher and Director, S4 Initiative (Safeguarding Security Sector Stockpiles) based in Borex, Switzerland, Eric Berman, titled: “The Management of Lethal Materiel in Conflict Settings: Existing Challenges and Opportunities for the European Peace Facility.”
“As alarming as these numbers are, they likely under-estimate the true scale and scope of the losses incurred concerning the security personnel of the four Lake Chad Basin countries,” the report said.
“A memorial to fallen comrades since 2013 at the headquarters of the Nigerian military’s operations in Northeast Nigeria had in 2018 listed the names of more than 1,300 soldiers inscribed on it.”
It also revealed lethal weapons seized from the military during attacks by the terrorists, sustained the 12-year insurgency in Nigeria and the Lake Chad region, adding that corruption and diminished morale were mostly responsible for loss of equipment.
A breakdown of fatalities per country revealed that Nigeria lost 1,952 soldiers, Chad lost 217 soldiers, Niger lost 132 soldiers and Cameroon lost 67 soldiers from 2015 to 2020.
Further breakdown showed that Nigeria lost 134 personnel in 2015, 157 in 2016, 171 in 2017, 425 in 2018, 642 in 2019 and 423 in 2020.
Chad recorded loss of one soldier in 2015, four in 2016, nine in 2017, zero in 2018, 34 in 2019 and 169 in 2020.
Niger recorded 14, 2015; 57, 2016; zero, 2017; 19, 2019; 22, 2019 and 20, 2020.
Cameroon recorded the death of 36 personnel in 2015, nine, in 2016, one in 2017, zero in 2018, 21 in 2019 and zero in 2020.
On yearly basis the findings showed that, within the period under review, the four troop-contributing member nations – Nigeria, Chad, Niger and Cameroon – lost 185 personnel in 2015, 227 in 2016, 181, 2017; 444, 2018, 719, 2019 and 612 in 2020.
However, the Nigerian military said it is winning the war against insurgency in all the theatres of operations, including the North East and the North West regions sof the country.
Defence Spokesperson Maj. Gen. Olufemi Sawyerr, said the fact that thousands of insurgents were surrendering with their families and laying down their arms, was an indication that government was winning the war against insurgency, adding that the act of surrender wasalso a sign of victory for the nation.
