‘Captured’ Soldiers: Army, Militants Disagree

Members of the Concerned Militant Leaders (CML) of Niger Delta region and the Nigerian Army have clearly disagreed over claims that some 24 soldiers were captured during their encounter, last Friday.
While the militants claim that 24 soldiers, who were rounded up and taken captive have yet to be released, the Nigerian Army has bluntly denied the capture of any of its personnel during the gun duel, which occurred along the Bakassi Peninsula waterways in Cross River State.
Similarly, the militants have debunked the claim by the military that seven of its members were shot dead during the exchange of gunfire.
Leader of the militant group, simply identified as General Ben, stated, yesterday, that he did not lose any of his combatants, advising members of the public to discountenance the report.
Ben disclosed that the captured 24 soldiers were onboard a military gunboat Pilot 1, MB12 also known as Thunder Boat, and threatened to “execute them at the appropriate time.”
But in a quick reaction, the Acting Director of Army Public Relations, Col Sani Usman, debunked the claim by the militants that they had captured some soldiers.
According to Usman:”There is nothing like that”, clarifying that the militants did not capture any soldier in Cross River State.
The militant leader, who claimed to be in control of Bakassi/Calabar territory, admitted that some of his men were severely wounded in the encounter, but denied that they suffered bullet injuries.
He said his “rugged boys” were affected by a chemical substance, which was aerially spread by a military aircraft.
Ben declared: “My boys were wounded today, but I didn’t lose any of my men.
“They (soldiers) will now claim they have killed us. It’s not true. What the plane spread around here I suspect, was acid.
“It cannot kill us because we know what to do. We will decide what to do with the 24 soldiers captured. Their Pilot 1, MB12 Thunder Boat is in our custody. This is our territory, and they cannot escape from our domain because they have crossed our border.
“We have been quiet for a while, studying events in this country.
“We have discovered that the government does not care how people fare. Instead, the situation is getting worse and out of control on a daily basis,” he said.