June 09, (THEWILL) – Suspected Boko Haram insurgents on Friday ambushed a convoy carrying Nigeria’s former Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Tukur Buratai (retd), in Borno State.
The Senator representing Borno South, Ali Ndume, confirmed the incident during an appearance on Channels Television’sPolitics Today on Sunday. He said the attack occurred near a frontline military base in the northeastern part of the state.
Ndume revealed that Buratai’s convoy came under heavy fire, prompting a fierce exchange between the troops escorting the retired general and the insurgents.
“We are in a dire security situation. Just two days ago, Buratai was attacked at a frontline operations base in Borno. His team responded gallantly, but the insurgents still managed to destroy several military assets,” the senator said.
Expressing concern over the growing audacity of insurgents in the region, Ndume noted that Boko Haram fighters are now directly targeting high-grade military hardware.
“Insurgents now go after Mine-Resistant Ambush Protected Vehicles (MRAPs), tanks, and machine guns. The situation in Borno is deteriorating rapidly. These terrorists now move freely, torching and looting military equipment. It is becoming a full-blown crisis,” he warned.
Ndume painted a bleak national security outlook, stating that insecurity has spread to all six geopolitical zones of the country. He listed banditry, terrorism, and economic sabotage as key threats ravaging different parts of Nigeria.
“Even in the South-South, we are grappling with massive oil theft and economic sabotage. At this point, the South-West appears to be the only relatively safe region,” he added.
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