Boko Haram attacks GOC’s convoy, kills 1 soldier, injures 2

Acting General Officer Commanding (GOC), 7 Division Nigerian Army, Brigadier General Victor Ezeukwu escaped death by the whiskers when Boko Haram ambushed his convoy yesterday.
Ezeukwu, who was said to be leading a convoy of vehicles to Bama, in Borno State on a visit to soldiers operating in the village, came under heavy attack from the terrorists’ at about 8.30am.
A soldier died during the attack while two others reportedly sustained serious injuries.   Both the dead and injured soldiers have since been evacuated to Maiduguri.
A statement by the Acting Director of Army Public Relations, Colonel Sani Usman said the soldiers, however, killed some Boko Haram members, cleared the ambush as well as recovered some vehicles and weapons from them.
He listed items recovered from the terrorists to include one Toyota Hilux vehicle, two AK-47 rifles and several ammunition.  In a statement made available to Daily Sun                  in Abuja, Usman said the GOC, who is in high spirit, had spoken with the Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant General Tukur Yusuf Buratai, as he continued his operational visit to Bama, to see to the welfare of the troops.
In a related development, the Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar has said the end is near for the insurgents in the North East. Air Marshal Abubakar, who commissioned projects within the Nigerian Air Force base in Lagos, said: “We are at the tail end of the fight against Boko Haram and I am very confident that the fight against insurgents is coming to end.”
He said despite suicide attacks by the insurgents, the military was making progress in the fight against Boko Haram.
Also, the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) has revealed plans to deploy Private Security Operation (PSO) to function in the area of intelligence-gathering against terrorism and other social vices in the country.  Commandant General of the NSCDC, Abdullahi Gana Muhammadu, made the disclosure during the third edition of the security management training organised for directors and senior managers of Private Security Firms in Nigeria.
Speaking further, Gana noted that the main focus of the workshop is to repackage, re-engineer, re-focus and strengthen the private guards industry towards ensuring professionalism and effective contributions to national security.
“Permit me to also use this occasion to announce to you that the Corps is strategising and working out ways to further developing the capacity of the Private Guard Operators to also function in the area of intelligence gathering to assist in solving some of the knotty security issues around us,” he said.