By Kolawole Ojebisi
The lawmaker representing Borno South in the Senate, Ali Ndume, has revealed how former Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Tukur Buratai (retd), narrowly escaped death days ago.
Ndume stated that Buratai’s close shave with death happened on Friday when his convoy came under a heavy gunfire attack in Borno State.
He added that the attack is believed to have been orchestrated by suspected Boko Haram insurgents,
Ndume made this revelation while speaking on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Sunday evening.
According to the high-ranking lawmaker, the retired army general and his accompanying soldiers were ambushed near a frontline military base.
He stressed that a fierce exchange of gunfire ensued between the attackers and the troops escorting Buratai.The legislator, however, admitted that he could not ascertain the casualties on either sides of the duel.
“We are in a dire security situation. Just two days ago, Buratai was attacked at the front operations base in Borno. His team responded gallantly, but the insurgents managed to destroy several military assets,” he said.
The attackers reportedly targeted high-value equipment including Mine-Resistant Ambush Protected Vehicles (MRAPVs), tanks, and machine guns.
“The situation in Borno is deteriorating rapidly. Insurgents now move freely, torching and stealing military equipment. It is becoming a full-blown crisis,” he added.
Recall that in May, Nigerian governors of Northern extraction under the auspices of Northern Governors’ Forum called for a rejig of the nation’s security architecture among other propositions made to the federal government to tackle the insecurity ravaging that part of the country.
Buratai served as Nigeria’s Chief of Army Staff from 2015 to 2021 and was a central figure in the country’s counterinsurgency campaign.
