The convoy of the All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship candidate in Borno State, Engr. Mustapha Gubio, reportedly came under attack on Thursday after a police armoured vehicle was hit by an explosive on the Gubio-Kareto-Damasak highway. Daily Trust reported the incident in a breaking report.
According to the newspaper, the incident happened as Gubio and his entourage travelled back to Maiduguri after a thank-you visit to Damasak, a border community in northern Borno. A security source cited by Daily Trust said the attackers had planted explosives along the route before the convoy passed.
The source told the newspaper that the armoured vehicle leading the convoy triggered one of the suspected landmines, causing a major explosion. The blast was reportedly followed by an attempt by insurgents to attack the convoy, forcing the accompanying security personnel to take up defensive positions.
Daily Trust further reported that personnel drawn from the military, police and Civilian Joint Task Force (CJTF) confronted the suspected insurgents in a gun battle. The security response, according to the report, prevented the attackers from inflicting further damage on the main convoy, while the armoured vehicle sustained extensive destruction.
The Gubio-Kareto-Damasak road is regarded as one of the more dangerous routes in the region, with its proximity to insurgent operating areas making travellers vulnerable to ambushes and improvised explosive devices. Thursday’s incident therefore adds to continuing concerns over security along the corridor, particularly as political activities intensify in Borno.
Attempts to obtain an official reaction from the Borno State Police Command were reportedly unsuccessful, with its spokesman, DSP Nahum Kenneth Daso, said to have neither answered calls nor responded to text messages. Daily Trust also recalled the 2011 assassination of Modu Fannami Gubio, an ANPP governorship candidate and relative of the current APC candidate, who was killed in Maiduguri.
