Gunmen suspected to be Boko Haram fighters on Saturday evening attacked the security convoy of the Yobe State Governor, Mai Mala Buni, who narrowly escaped as one policeman was killed and six others injured along the Jakana-Mainok expressway in Borno State.
According to The PUNCH, spokesman for the governor, Mamman Mohammed, confirmed thae attack, saying that Governor Buni’s security details ran into the ambush.
It was said that the security was on the convoy that escorted the governor to Maiduguri for the 24th Convocation ceremony of the University of Maiduguri, where Vice-President Kashim Shettima was conferred with an honorary doctorate degree.
However, unknown to the terrorists, after the event, the security team returned to Yobe, but without the Governor, who stayed behind in Maiduguri preparatory for another trip to Abuja for an official engagement.
The Governor’s spokesperson said, “They fired some shots, but the security escorting the governor’s official vehicles back to Damaturu exchanged fire with them, but three policemen sustained injuries”
He stated further that the security operatives could repel the attack and that those injured were responding to treatment.
However, a security source from the convoy revealed that while the suspected Boko Haram terrorists targeted the Governor, they also had their eyes on some of the military and police sophisticated weapons and ammunition in the security convoy.
The source said, “The terrorists’ target and eyes were on the MRAP and the gun truck that the troops leading the convoy are equipped with. Because their arms and ammunition have been heavily depleted recently and they need new stock with the latest versions, that’s why they attacked the MRAP gun truck and another vehicle conveying the Police and DSS, which were targeted.
“As expected, our ever-prepared troops responded with heavy fire, forcing the terrorists to retreat. Unfortunately, one Police officer paid the supreme price, even as two soldiers, including a driver, three policemen, and a DSS personnel, were injured,” he disclosed further.
However, it is was said that the casualty figure suffered by the terrorists, though unconfirmed as of press time, was heavy.
It was learnt that after the attack the security operatives returned safely to Damaturu, the Yobe State capital, while the wounded personnel and the driver were taken to an undisclosed hospital for treatment, “but some of the wounded are in critical condition,” the source added.
