More Persons Missing, as 48 Corpses of Boko Haram’s Ambush Victims Arrive Maiduguri

Taibat Shittu/
More than the 48 people accounted for by military authorities may have been killed in the ambush by Boko Haram insurgents during an oil exploration to the Lake Chad Basin, on Tuesday.
Authorities announced, on Wednesday, that all those held captive by the insurgents had been rescued, while the corpses of nine soldiers and one civilian killed during the rescue operation had been recovered.
But, 46 corpses of victims of the attack were brought to the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital (UMTH) in the Borno State capital, on Thursday.
The corpses brought in include 18 soldiers, 15 Civilian JTF, three university staff, four NNPC drivers and eight yet-to-be-identified persons.
Six of the eight unidentified victims were said to have been wounded in the attack, but escaped to somewhere in Yobe State, where they were later found dead and brought to Maiduguri.
These were apart from the wounded soldiers receiving treatment in the military hospital in Maiduguri. Also, two members of the Civilian JTF were as at Thursday on admission at the UMTH.
But the family of a member of the exploration team has raised the alarm over their missing relation.
Newsmakers learned that five lecturers from the University of Maiduguri were in the exploration team, but only three have been accounted for.
The three, whose corpses were brought to Maiduguri, on Thursday, were identified as Dr. Joseph Millitus, Dr. Manaja Uba and Idris Njodi.
A relative of one of the two missing university staff, identified as Yusuf Ibrahim, said the family has no report yet about his condition or whereabouts.
Efforts to get more information from the university and military authorities on the number of persons still missing were unsuccessful.
Meanwhile, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation announced it had suspended exploration for crude oil in the Lake Chad Basin, following attacks.
Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Ibe Kachikwu, told journalists in Abuja the exercise had to be put on hold until the corporation gets sufficient clearance to resume its oil search in the region from the military.
Kachikwu also commiserated with the families of victims.
He reiterated that the corporation got the necessary clearance from security agencies before embarking on the trip last Tuesday.
He regretted that the team was ambushed by terrorists and reaffirmed that no work will happen at the site anytime soon.
The commercial oil found in neighboring Chad Republic had encouraged the NNPC to intensify its exploratory work in the the Chad Basin.
The Army, had claimed in a press statement, on Wednesday, by it’s Usman, that all the NNPC staff abducted in the Tuesday’s ambush had been rescued.
Its spokesman, Brig. Gen. Sani Usman, in the statement, said: “On receipt of the information, the Brigade mobilised and sent rienforcement; search and rescue party that include the Armed Forces Special Forces and guides that worked and pursued the terrorists throughout the night.
“So far, they have rescued all the NNPC staff and recovered the corpses of the Officer, 8 soldiers and a civilian who have been evacuated to 7 Division Medical Services and Hospital.
“The team recovered 4 vehicles one of which include a gun truck mounted with an Anti-Aircraft Gun, 2 white Hilux taken away from NNPC staff and 1 blue Hilux belonging to CJTF. The team also recovered large quantities of arms and ammunition, several spare tyres, many jerry cans of containing Petroleum, Oil and Lubricant, assorted drugs, Improvised Explosive Device (IED) making materials, reflective jackets and a Motorola handheld radio, among others. The team also neutralized many of the terrorists.”