Against what the international media have been reporting, the Director of Defence Information, Maj. Gen. Chris Olukolade, during a press briefing in Abuja yesterday, says 150 people were killed during the attack on Baga on January, 3rd, 2015 and not 2000 like it is widely circulated.
According to him, Baga had been facing serious threats from the insurgent which has made a lot of residents flee and only very little residents were left. He also said majority of those that died out of the 150 people were the insurgents. Adding that the troops really battled them.
“…It is however necessary to inform Nigerians in the interim that the exercise so far has not corroborated the report on the casualty rate which was put at 2,000.
“From all available evidences, the number of people who lost their lives during that attack has so far not exceeded about 150 in the interim. This figure includes many of the terrorists who were bearing arms and got killed in the course of their attack and battle with troops.
“It should be noted that Baga and the neighbouring towns have been under a series of attacks and harassment by the terrorists. In the course of this, many residents have left, leaving the population in the town almost seriously depleted. Many were also able to escape while the terrorists’ battle with troops lasted.
“The figure given by sources who claim to be eyewitnesses must be an extremely exaggerated estimate. Unfortunately, this figure is now being bandied about in a section of the media as if it has been authenticated. It cannot be true,” he said.
Culled
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