Soldiers and family members were in tears on Tuesday at the burial service of late Colonel Dahiru Chiroma Bako who was killed by terrorists on Sunday.
Col Bako commanded the 25 Task Force, Operation Lafiya Dole, in Damboa before he died from gunshot wounds.
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The late colonel and his men were said to have been ambushed on Sunday by suspected terrorists at Wajiroko near Damboa, thereafter he sustained injuries and died at a military hospital.
Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant General Tukur Buratai, who gave the citation of late Col. Bako at the Maimalari Military Cemetery, Maiduguri, Borno State, where the officer was buried, described him as a fighter who “gave everything” for the unity and peace of the nation.
He said: “As we mourn and continue to remember him, we are not going to leave his family and children after this moment.
“But the Army is going to take up the scholarship for the children he left behind and will ensure they have a good life even after the demise of their father.”
Borno State Governor, Professor Babagana Umara Zulum, who was at the burial service, described the late colonel as a gallant and dogged military officer, under whose watch Damboa was never defeated by the insurgents.
Zulum announced the donation of a “befitting house” and the sum of N20 million to the widow and orphans left behind by late Col. Bako.
“Col. Bako was a gallant and dodged military officer, under whose watch Damboa was never defeated.
“He is part of the success recorded in degrading insurgency in Borno State.
“I am reliably informed that Col. Bako did not have a house of his own.
“We cannot ignore the family he left behind.
“We share their grief and nothing can equal his life.
“Nevertheless, I am pleased to announce that Borno State Government will build a befitting house for the family of late Col. Bako.
“For the welfare of his family, Borno State Government will release the sum of N20 million as support for them.
“A cheque to the effect will be ready later today or tomorrow (Wednesday).” Zulum said.
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