Lieutenant Colonel Ibrahim Sakaba: A fearless, brave commander
Ibrahim Sakaba, a Lieutenant Colonel, died alongside at least 117 of his fellow soldiers following a catastrophic invasion of their base in northern Borno State on November 18, 2018.
Colleagues hailed the bravery of all the soldiers who lost their lives in the attack. But they hailed Mr Sakaba in particular for his leadership at the Nigerian Army 157 Task Force Battalion in Metele, where Boko Haram terrorists launched a surprise attack against them at about 6:00 p.m. that Sunday.
A senior military colleague who knew Mr Sakaba described him as a selfless commander.
Mr Sakaba “had refused to advance for an operation some time ago due to unserviceable equipment and a lack of equipment, but was threatened with court-martial,” the senior officer said while recalling how his fallen colleague risked his career in the preservation of the hundreds of personnel he supervised at the 157 Task Force Battalion.
Perhaps for its strategic role as a formidable asset in Nigeria’s counter-insurgency operations — especially how its personnel have repeatedly driven jihadists away from the larger Metele area towards the border with the Chad Republic — the battalion has come under repeated attacks by Boko Haram.
The base was raided on October 8 by Boko Haram, during which at least 18 soldiers were killed and eight wounded.
The Army confirmed the attack, but significantly downplayed its severity, especially the scale of personnel and equipment losses.
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Sakaba was born on December 20, 1975.
He was first deployed to Borno State in 2014 while at the rank of a major. His service number is N/10744.
Married and blessed with a son, Sakaba graduated as an infantry officer in 2001 from the Nigerian Army 48 Regular Course at the Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA).
Shortly after his deployment as a staff officer at the Nigerian Army 7 Division, Maiduguri, in 2014, he was involved in a skirmish with M.Y. Ibrahim, now a major-general, who was the acting general officer commanding (GOC) of the division at the time.
Sakaba was subsequently posted out of the Division the same year.
His appointment as the commander of 157 Task Force Battalion was his second as a lieutenant colonel, and it was characterised by his relentless complaints about poor military hardware and acute shortage of welfare supplies to his men, military sources said.
Bala Na’Allah, the Senate majority leader, was among the first persons to acknowledge Sakaba’s heroism.
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During the senate plenary, Mr Na’Allah described the fallen officer as his cousin and the finest soldier he had ever known.
The senator consequently urged his colleagues to adjourn plenary in honour of the commander and his men who lost their lives in service to their country.
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