Death toll from Boko Haram attack on the convoy of Borno State Governor, Babagana Zulum, has reportedly risen to 30.
MDB earlier reported that 15 security personnel attached to the convoy of Governor Zulum were killed by Boko Haram terrorists.
The security personnel killed comprises of eight policemen, three soldiers and four Civilian-JTF personnel.
The attacked officials, according to sources familiar with the attack, were heading to Baga town ahead of government’s planned return of internally displaced persons (IDPs) from Maiduguri to the camps.
Read Also: 15 Security Personnel Killed As Boko Haram Terrorists Attack Borno Governor, Babagana Zulum’s Convoy
In latest development, two sources told AFP that fatalities from the attack Friday in restive Borno state had doubled as more bodies were found.
This include 12 policemen, five soldiers, four members of a government-backed militia and nine civilians.
One of the sources said;
The tally has increased to 30 as many bodies were picked in the surrounding areas after the attack. Many people were injured.
A second security source gave the same death toll of 30 from the assault and said the militants seized eight vehicles.
It stated;
The terrorists made away with an armoured personnel carrier, a gun truck and six sports utility vehicles in the convoy.
Police confirmed in a statement that the attack by suspected jihadists on the “security convoy” had killed eight policemen and three government-backed militia members.
It said 13 other people had been wounded and the attack had been “successfully repelled”.
Zulum — who sources said was unhurt in the attack — had flown to the area to prepare for the return of residents displaced from Baga by the conflict.
He was driving in the convoy accompanied by government officials under tight security towards Baga ahead of the arrival of the returnees.
The IS-affiliated Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) group maintains most of its camps on islands in Lake Chad and the region is known as a bastion for the jihadists.
The militant group has recently intensified attacks on military and civilian targets in the region.
In July, Zulum’s convoy came under gun attack from ISWAP outside Baga, forcing him to cancel his trip to the town.
Read Also: Breaking: Gunmen Attack Borno Governor’s Convoy
The decade-long insurgency in northeast Nigeria has killed 36,000 people and forced over 2 million from their homes.
Most of the displaced have been housed into squalid camps where they depend on food handouts from international charities.
Local authorities have been encouraging the displaced to go back to their homes despite concern from aid agencies of the security risks.
ISWAP splintered from the main Boko Haram group in 2016 and has gone on to be the dominant insurgent force in the region.
