The horrors of terrorism resurfaced with brutal force over the weekend as Boko Haram terrorists launched a devastating assault on the 153 Task Force Battalion base in Marte Local Government Area of Borno State, leaving several Nigerian soldiers feared dead in yet another national tragedy.
Sources confirmed that the well-coordinated Saturday night raid saw insurgents dislodge troops, overrun the base, set armoured tanks ablaze, and make away with military-grade ammunition. Communication with the base has since been lost, raising grave fears about the fate of the soldiers stationed there.
“There was another Boko Haram dislodgement in Marte 153 TF Battalion on Saturday night. So many of our men are feared dead as we already lost communication with the base since the attack,” a senior military officer disclosed.
This attack comes just weeks after 22 soldiers, including a commanding officer, were kjîľed in a similar ambush in Malam-Fatori, Abadam LGA, also in Borno. The Marte base, previously recaptured multiple times from insurgents, remains a critical flashpoint in the bloody theatre of Nigeria’s 14-year insurgency war.
Nigeria’s North East: A Warzone Without End
Despite repeated government claims — especially during former President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration — that Boko Haram had been “technically defeated”, the North East continues to bleed. What was once a single insurgent group has now evolved into a multipronged terrorist network, with ISWAP (Islamic State West Africa Province) carrying out equally savage operations in the region.
With tens of thousands dead and millions displaced, the Boko Haram insurgency has created one of the world’s worst humanitarian disasters, pushing thousands into overcrowded IDP camps and leaving entire communities without access to food, shelter, healthcare, or safety.
A Nation Demands Answers
Nigerians are once again asking hard questions:
Where is the promised end to terrorism?
Why are our soldiers still vulnerable?
What happened to the billions allocated for defence and counter-insurgency?
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, who has vowed to restore security and confidence in Nigeria’s armed forces, now faces mounting pressure to respond decisively to this massacre — not with speeches, but with action.
