The advance security convoy for President Muhammadu Buhari’s visit to his home state in the country’s northwest was ambushed by gunmen, according to the administration.
Buhari was not in the convoy when it was assaulted by gunmen on Tuesday night, injuring two persons and highlighting Nigeria’s precarious security situation.
Buhari is due to visit his birthplace of Daura in Katsina State for the Muslim holiday of Sallah this weekend.
A convoy carrying an advance squad of security personnel, including DSS state security agents, presidential protocol and media officers, came under fire near Daura on Tuesday night, according to a statement from the presidency.
“The terrorists opened fire on the convoy from ambush positions, but were repulsed by the accompanying military, police, and DSS officers,” it claimed.
“Two individuals within the convoy are undergoing treatment for minor injuries. All other personnel, workers, and vehicles reached Daura safely.”
It was first unclear who was responsible for the attack.
Nigeria’s security forces are still facing a 13-year Islamist insurgency in the country’s northeast and heavily armed criminal gangs that operate in the northwest when Buhari leaves office the following year after serving two terms.
Despite military operations against them in northwest and central Nigeria, armed militias are known locally as bandits frequently plunder villages and abduct large numbers of people for ransom.
