Jihadist fighters linked to the Islamic State group on Friday, September 25, killed 15 security personnel in an ambush on the convoy of the Borno State governor, Babagana Umara Zulum.
According to the Agence France Presse (AFP), eight policemen, three soldiers, and four members of a government-backed militia were killed in the attack which occurred near the town of Baga on the shores of Lake Chad.
It was gathered that the insurgents opened fire with machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades as the convoy was passing through a village close to the headquarters of the Multinational Joint Task Force, a military coalition of troops from Nigeria, Niger, Chad and Cameroon.
Babagana Zulum, governor of Borno, had inaugurated a 23-member committee for the relocation of internally displaced persons from Baga communities to their ancestral homes in Kukawa local government area (LGA) of the state.
Zulum had said the relocation was a sequel to a letter sent to Tukur Buratai, chief of army staff, demanding immediate resettlement of all IDPs from Baga, beginning September 26, 2020.
He had charged the committee to ensure the safe return of the IDPs, adding that the government was doing everything possible to support them.
Baga is a fishing community located on the fringes of Lake Chad which has been deserted for over two years due to activities of insurgents.
Several attacks have been perpetrated on the region by Boko Haram insurgents, leading to the loss of lives and properties.
The incident comes less than one week after D.C. Bako, commander of the 25 task force brigade, was killed by insurgents.
