Borno: Terrorists ambush APC governorship candidate Gubio’s convoy

A convoy belonging to the APC governorship candidate from Borno State, Mustapha Gubio, was attacked by Boko Haram insurgents on Thursday.

The attack took place on the Gubio-Kareto-Damasak road in the northern side of the state as Gubio and his associates were traveling to Mobbar Local Government Area as a gesture of appreciation to the APC party faithful after being nominated as their candidate in the last primaries of the party.

Sources said the convoy was attacked around Kareto community at about 2:30pm, with the assailants reportedly firing rocket-propelled grenades and sporadic gunshots at the vehicles.

The attack was subsequently repelled by a combined security team comprising soldiers, police personnel, members of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, NSCDC, Department of State Services, DSS, Civilian Joint Task Force, CJTF, and local vigilantes.

An insider who escaped the incident described the attack as terrifying, saying the convoy came under heavy assault from the suspected terrorists.

The source claimed that some police armoured vehicles were damaged during the encounter but said no member of the convoy was killed or injured.

The Force Public Relations Officer, Ani Iniedu, confirmed the attack.

In a statement, Iniedu said police tactical operatives engaged the suspected terrorists after they attacked the convoy along the Kareto-Damasak Road using an improvised explosive device, IED, and rocket-propelled grenades.

According to him, the tactical team successfully forced the attackers to retreat into the surrounding bush before scanning and clearing the area to guard against possible secondary explosive threats.

Iniedu said the convoy, which included the APC governorship candidate, government officials and other political stakeholders, was subsequently evacuated safely to a secure location.

He added that no member of the entourage was killed or injured in the attack.