Boko Haram militants have attacked a joint security post near Muna in Borno State, killing an officer of the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) and injuring several soldiers from the 195 Battalion, according to multiple immigration sources quoted by SaharaReporters.
The assault occurred around 2:00 a.m. on November 30, when insurgents stormed the “Charly Company” location and opened fire on personnel stationed at the post.
Reinforcement teams arrived shortly after the initial gunfire, forcing the attackers to retreat into surrounding bushes.
The fallen officer has been identified as Assistant Immigration Officer IA II Lucky, a member of NIS Batch 13 deployed under Operation Hadin Kai.
An immigration officer who spoke anonymously expressed deep concern over what he described as “dangerous and unfair deployments” of NIS personnel to frontline combat zones.
“Immigration officers are not trained for frontline combat,” the source said. “Imagine sending us to face Boko Haram with only two magazines. How do they expect us to survive?”
Another officer noted that this was “one attack too many” for their batch, saying nearly four colleagues had been lost during the current deployment.
“We are overstretched, under-equipped and exposed,” he added.
Several officers called on the Comptroller General of Immigration to intervene urgently to protect staff deployed to conflict areas.
“Immigration is not a combat force,” a senior officer stressed. “We support operations, but we should not be placed directly in harm’s way.”
Some personnel also accused senior officials of favouritism in the rotation of duty rosters, alleging that certain officers were shielded from high-risk assignments.
As of press time, the Nigerian Army had yet to release an official statement on the incident. Efforts to reach NIS spokesperson Akinsola Akinlabi were unsuccessful.
Security operations are ongoing in the Muna axis, a location long regarded as a volatile hotspot for insurgent activity on the outskirts of Maiduguri.