TheCable

At least six security personnel attached to Mai Mala Buni, governor of Yobe, were injured in an ambush by suspected Boko Haram fighters while returning to the state from Borno.

According to Zagazola Makama, a counter insurgency publication focused on the Lake Chad region, the terrorists fired at the security operatives on the convoy of the governor on Saturday along the Jakana-Mainok expressway.

Earlier on Saturday, Buni was in Maiduguri, capital of Borno, where he joined other dignitaries to attend the 24th combined convocation ceremony of the University of Maiduguri.

Zagazola Makama  said the governor left for Abuja after the event through the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) base in Maiduguri while the convoy returned to Damaturu, Yobe state capital, and was ambushed by the Boko Haram fighters.

The publication quoted military sources as saying the governor’s security details with MRAP, a gun truck and another vehicle conveying the police operatives and those of the Department of State Services (DSS) was shot at by the insurgents.

The sources said the security details responded with “heavy fire”,  forcing the terrorists to retreat.

“However, two soldiers, a driver and four policemen were wounded. Terrorists casualties were unconfirmed,” Zagazola Makama said.

Zagazola Makama said the security operatives returned safely to Yobe while the wounded personnel have been taken to the hospital for treatment.