The Joint Task Force (JTF) operating in restive Maiduguri, the capital of Borno State on Monday, reported the loss of another officer in an encounter with members of the vicious Boko Haram insurgent.
Undisclosed sources said that the army officer, Lieutenant Haggai Bitrus, a native of Plateau state died when the Islamist group launched a surprise attack on JTF operatives.
"There are so many things happening now that Nigerians are not being told, we have lost yet another officer in the person of Lieutenant Haggai Bitrus to these Boko Haram elements. His parents have been informed. The situation is bad. Just last week we lost some soldiers too."the military source.
It was further revealed that JTF was carrying out serious operations against Boko Haram targets, but the source added that the group was resilient and was carrying out occasional guerrilla-style assaults on JTF fighters as well.
The second source, a relation of the late Lieutenant, described the officer's death as a shocking development. "All the family was shocked when we received the sad news," he said.
He added that the deceased was a graduate of the University of Jos before his enlistment in the Nigerian Army.
"He was a gentle man, "his mother died in 2009, and he was the last child of his mother. He was a very hard working young man who had labored for life and only to be cut short in his prime by wicked and evil forces called Boko Haram. This is our saddest moment in life."
As at the time of this report, the Defense Headquarters was yet to issue a statement detailing the circumstances that led to the killing of the army officer.
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