Some 24 hours after Nigerian soldiers from the 234 battalion fled Mubi, Adamawa State as Islamist fighters advanced, the Defense Headquarters in Abuja has ordered the troops to return and retake the town from the militants. SaharaReporters was first to report yesterday that Islamist terrorists fighting under the banner of Boko Haram had captured the strategically important town of Mubi from Nigerian troops who were so overwhelmed by the insurgents’ firepower that they abandoned their barracks and weaponry as they fled.
A military source in Abuja said this morning that the embarrassing retreat had infuriated the Chief of Defense Staff, Alex Badeh, whose hometown, Vimtim, is now less than 15 miles from the location of the insurgents.
Military sources said yesterday that Boko Haram militants were able to sweep into Mubi yesterday with little or no resistance from Nigerian troops based in the town. Newspaper accounts disclose that the militants have since bombed a prison yard and a major police facility in the town.
Our military sources said the insurgents had taken over the headquarters of the former Special Operations Battalion (SOB) now known as the 234 Battalion. One source said military authorities in Abuja were particularly nervous about the insurgents’ capture of the barracks because the retreating soldiers left behind a huge cache of sophisticated weapons kept at the armory in Mubi.
“With the weapons in their possession, these militants can pose a serious threat to many other parts of the state and beyond,” a military officer
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