Boko Haram fighters on Friday killed at least 24 persons in an ambush on the volatile Borno State, the Police have said.
Those killed included eight Policemen, part of those leading a convoy of persons displaced from the region who were billed to return to their ancestral land, according the Police, Edet Okon, a Deputy Superintendent of Police and spokesman for the Borno Command, said in a statement Saturday.
“On 25th September, 2020 at about 12PM, the security convoy who were heading to Baga in respect of Government’s effort to relocate indigenes of Baga to their ancestral home came under heavy gun attack by Armed Men suspected to be Boko Haram terrorists between Cross Kauwa and Baga town,” Okon said.
He said that the security convoy returned fire and successfully repelled the attack.
“In the ensuing gun fight however, casualties were recorded on both sides. Unfortunately, eight (8) Policemen and three (3) members of the Civilian Joint Task Force paid the supreme price. Thirteen (13) other persons sustained various degrees of injuries and were rushed to Hospital for treatment,” he confirmed.
Governor Babagana Zulum of Borno State in July came under intense fire from the Boko Haram fighters near a military base on his way to Baga to assess the place for the planned return of the displaces indigenes of the area.
It was a narrow escape for the governor who had to be shepherded by soldiers into his vehicle amidst booming gunshots. Zulum remained unruffled throughout the attack.
