BREAKING: Boko Haram Terrorists Storm Borno Security Position, Kill Immigration Officer, Wound Soldiers

Boko Haram militants have attacked a joint security position near Muna, Borno State, killing an officer of the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) and injuring several soldiers attached to the 195 Battalion, multiple immigration sources to SaharaReporters on Tuesday.

It was gathered that the attack occurred at about 2:00 a.m. on November 30, when insurgents stormed the “Charly Company” location, opening fire on the personnel on duty. Reinforcement reportedly arrived moments later, forcing the attackers to retreat into the bush.

The fallen officer was identified by colleagues as Assistant Immigration Officer IA II Lucky, a member of the NIS Batch 13 contingent deployed under Operation Hadin Kai.

“Immigration officers are not trained for frontline combat,” one of the sources said.

Speaking on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the matter, an NIS officer expressed frustration over what he described as “the dangerous and unfair deployment” of immigration personnel to frontline battle positions.

“Imagine immigration officers are being used in a frontline battle with Boko Haram when we are not trained like soldiers,” the source said.

“We are given only two magazines to defend ourselves against terrorists. How do they expect us to survive?”

Another immigration officer lamented that the latest attack was “one too many” following their deployment under Operation Hadin Kai.

“This batch alone has lost almost four men in this operation,” the officer said. “We are overstretched, under-equipped and exposed.”

Some officers are calling on the Comptroller General of Immigration to urgently intervene to protect NIS staff deployed to conflict zones.

“The Controller General must come to our aid,” a senior officer said. “Immigration is not a combat force. We support operations, but we should not be placed directly in harm’s way.”

The sources also accused some senior officials of favouritism in duty roster rotation, claiming that certain personnel were shielded from risky deployments.

“The CG should caution his G1 and admin,” one officer said. “It looks like they favour some people and leave the rest of us to face the toughest assignments. We will come back to that issue.”

As of the time of filing this report, the Nigerian Army had not issued an official statement regarding the incident.

SaharaReporters’ attempts to reach the spokesperson for the NIS, Akinsola Akinlabi, were unsuccessful, as he neither answered calls nor responded to a text message requesting a comment.

Security operations continue in the Muna axis, a known flashpoint for insurgent activity on the outskirts of Maiduguri.