BY PUPWAYA TIMOTHY DIBAL
Tributes are pouring in for the Nigerian Army
commander who lost his
life in a Boko Haram attack on Friday.
Muhammed Abu-Ali, a lieutenant colonel, was killed
in a sundown ambush by Boko Haram as he was coordinating a reinforcement to
repel an ongoing gun battle in Mallam Fatori — an insurgent stronghold on the
northernmost tip of Borno State.
The
Cable reports that a senior military official who spoke on the condition of
anonymity said that Ali was close to leaving Mallam Fatori ahead of an army
raid on Sambisa forest when they were attacked on Friday 4th November,
2016 at night.
The Army announced his passing, and that of four
other soldiers, in a statement around noon on Saturday.
By Saturday evening, a photo emerged of saluting
and pensive-looking soldiers who lined the runway as the body of the fallen
officer was unloaded from a Super Puma helicopter onto a stretcher.
The tragedy came barely a year after Mr. Abu-Ali
was specially
promoted from a major to a lieutenant colonel by the Chief of Army
Staff, Tukur Buratai, for the uncommon gallantry he brought to the battlefield.
For several months preceding the recognition, Mr.
Abu-Ali had been involved in audacious operations that ended in the liberation
of several Northeast settlements previously held by Boko Haram.
The operations that ended in the recapture of Baga
and Gamboru-Ngala by the Nigerian soldiers marked a significant watershed in
the war against Boko Haram.
The story of his death and valour has gripped the
country, with many on social media directing their thoughts and prayers to his
family.
According to Premium Times, Governor Yahaya Bello
of Kogi State received the news with great shock. He said, “The deceased was a
gallant officer who served the nation with his all and paid the supreme price
by laying down his life for the peace of the country”.
Similar
messages dominated Nigerians’ activities on Twitter for the past 24 hours.
“I just want to commiserate with the family of Lt.
Col. Abu-Ali our beloved and gallant soldier that has fallen in the battle
against Boko Haram,” said Okoro Chigozie.
Others hailed his heroism.
“Lt. Col. Muhammed Abu-Ali started the race as a
hero and ended it as one,” woman who identifies herself simply as Rabiya
tweeted. “May Allah have mercy on his soul and expose the ‘bad seeds’. Amin!”
“How do you explain to Abu-Ali’s little kids that
their father was a hero? How do you explain to them what their father did for
this country?” Another user, Ari Gold, tweeted.
But, in the middle of the eulogies, security
analysts expressed concerns about the vacuum Mr. Abu-Ali’s death would create
in the war against Boko Haram.
The military maintained that combat operations are
gradually coming to an end and troops are only clearing the sect’s remnants
across the beleaguered region.
But with high-profile attacks —such as the displacement
of 83 combatants a fortnight ago and the latest that just claimed
its bravest commander— occurring at frequent intervals in recent weeks, some
analysts are sounding a note of scepticism.
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