Borno's Governor Shettima commiserates with the families of those killed when Boko Haram attacked his convoy

BORNO State Governor Kashim Shettima has commiserated with the families of the three deceased persons who died when Boko Haram ambushed his convoy as he was on his way to neighbouring Yobe State for a campaign rally.

Yesterday, terrorist group Islamic State has claimed responsibility for an attack on the convoy which was on his way to a rally in Yobe State. In a statement released on its Amaq news agency, yesterday, Islamic State said 42 people were killed in Tuesday’s attack but Reuters quoting official sources, said it was informed that between three and 10 people were killed and that some of them may have been beheaded.

Governor Shettima escaped from the attack unscathed although his convoy ended up being split into two and he has announced plans to visit the families of the victims today. Isa Gusau, the governor's spokesman, said three persons were killed and the governor is expecting a full security briefing to get accurate information on the incident.

He added:  “Tuesday’s incident happened while the governor was on his way to Gamboru in continuation of campaigns for the presidential and national assembly elections coming up on Saturday. The governor had left Maiduguri on Tuesday morning and stopped for campaigns in Mafa and Dikwa local government areas before heading to Gamboru where he passed the night and returned to Maiduguri on Wednesday.

“He had on Monday travelled to Damasak, the headquarters of Mobbar Local Government Area in northern Borno and before then, he had previously held campaigns in most parts of northern Borno including Monguno, where he spent the night. He had also been to all the nine local government areas of southern Borno including Chibok, Gwoza, Askira-Uba and Biu where he spent days.”

Mr Gusau said the governor would meet some security heads to review the incident and more importantly, to continue his determined collaboration with all security agencies and volunteers in remaining committed to the ongoing fight against Boko Haram. He added that the unfortunate incident would not make the governor doubt the capacity of gallant and patriotic personnel of the Nigerian armed forces who have dedicated their lives fighting for peace and the freedom of Borno people.

During its decade-long war against the Nigerian state, Boko Haram has killed around 30,000 people and forced about 2m to leave their homes. Islamic State West Africa Province, which split from Boko Haram in 2016, has carried out a series of attack on military targets in the last few months and claimed responsibility for the most recent one.