Troops in Maiduguri, Borno State, ‘mistakenly’ opened fire
on the convoy of Governor Kashim Shettima as it approached a
military garrison near the airport.
Shettima was on his way to visit soldiers, who
were wounded in the simultenous Boko Haram attacks on Maiduguri,
Monguno and Kodunga when the incident occurred on Monday.Security sources, according toSaharaReporters, said
the governor’s protocol unit was to blame for the incident as it
failed to notify the military authorities about Shettima’s intention to visit
the military facility on Monday evening.An aide to the governor was quoted by the online
news portal as having said that the governor, who was unharmed in the encounter,
returned to his office unruffled.
The report however did not say if anyone in the convoy was
hurt. It also was silent on whether or not Shettima’s security aides returned
fired.A Government House source however claimed that the
governor’s convoy heard sporadic gunshots about one kilometre from the 33
Battalion and therefore made a U-turn.He added that Shettima stopped his convoy at the 707 Housing
Estate to calm tensions and debunk the rumours that the gunshots were
by Boko Haram insurgents that were attacking people at Njimtilo.
Our correspondents could not get the spokesman for the 7th
Div., Col S.K. Usman, to comment on the issue as calls to his
mobile did not connect.Attempts to also get the reaction of the Director of Press
and Communication to the governor, Mallam Isa Gusau, were unsuccessful as of
the time of filing this report.Calls to his mobile indicated that it was either
switched off or out of coverage area.But the state Commissioner for Infromation, Mohammed
Bulama, said what happened was a “friendly gunshot.”“It was not an attack on the governor. It was a friendly
gunshot that was not directed at Gov. Shettima nor his convoy. The shots were
fired into the air by soldiers who were hailing the governor for
saluting their effort in repelling the insurgents.”
Via,punch
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