Gunmen suspected to be bandits
have attacked the convoy of
President Muhammadu Buhari in
Katsina State.
The Senior Special Assistant to the
President on Media and Publicity,
Garba Shehu, confirmed this in a
statement on Tuesday.
He explained that a convoy of cars
carrying the advance team of
security guards, as well as protocol
and media officers ahead of the
President’s trip to Daura for Sallah
came under attack near Dutsinma in Katsina.
The attackers, according to Shehu,
opened fire on the convoy from
ambush positions, but they were
repelled by operatives of the military, police, and the Department of State Services (DSS) accompanying the convoy.
He stated that two persons in the
convoy who sustained minor injuries were receiving treatment while all other persons made it safely to Daura.
The attack on the President’s
advance team is the latest in the
series of criminal activities by the
outlaws who have continued to
terrorise communities in the North
West and parts of the north-central
region of the country.
On Wednesday last week, bandits
invaded a mining site at Ajata-Aboki in Gurmana Ward of Shiroro Local Government Area of Niger State where some persons were killed, and others abducted.
Thirteen policemen and civilians
reportedly lost their lives to the
incident while four Chinese nationals were among the victims said to have been kidnapped.
Amid reports that about 30 bodies of soldiers, who had responded to a
distress call on the attack were
recovered from the bush, the
Nigerian Army authorities said “a
number of personnel paid the
supreme price in the fierce firefight
that ensued”.