MAIDUGURI, Nigeria – Tactical security operatives have repelled a deadly ambush launched by suspected Boko Haram insurgents against the convoy of the All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship candidate in Borno State, Mustapha Gubio, along the Kareto–Damasak highway, the Nigeria Police Force confirmed on Friday, September 4, 2026.
The violent attack occurred late Thursday evening as the political delegation was returning to the state capital, Maiduguri, following a stakeholder consultation in Damasak, a northern border community situated approximately 190 kilometers from the state capital.
Okay News reports that the assailants planted improvised explosive devices (IEDs) along the roadway before opening fire on the vehicles with rocket-propelled grenades (RPGs) and automatic assault rifles in an attempt to overrun the convoy.
According to security personnel traveling with the entourage, the police armored personnel carrier leading the security advance drove over a buried landmine, triggering a violent detonation that heavily damaged the specialized vehicle.
“We entered Damasak safely and spent about 40 minutes there,” a security operative who participated in the defense stated. “On our way back, the insurgents planted mines on the road, and the armoured vehicle that led the convoy drove over it and exploded.”
Immediately following the blast, insurgents positioned along the tree line attempted to close in on the immobilized formation, but a joint defensive detachment comprising tactical police units, soldiers of the Nigerian Army, and members of the Civilian Joint Task Force (CJTF) promptly formed a protective perimeter.
“We had to park and take positions, waiting for the remaining vehicles in the convoy to arrive. In the course of waiting, we noticed the movement of the insurgents and swiftly engaged them,” the operative recounted.
The security escort engaged the attackers in an intense gunfight, forcing the insurgents to withdraw into the surrounding bushland and preventing casualties or damage to the civilian vehicles conveying Gubio and accompanying political dignitaries.
The Gubio–Kareto–Damasak highway has long remained a volatile logistics corridor in northern Borno, frequently used by factions of Boko Haram and the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) for transit between their enclaves around Lake Chad, the Sambisa Forest, and neighboring Yobe State.
Thursday’s incident underscores the acute operational risks confronting political figures and electoral personnel traversing rural constituencies in the North East ahead of upcoming election cycles.
The attack also revived memories of historic political assassinations in the region, notably the January 2011 murder of Modu Fannami Gubio, the then-governorship candidate of the defunct All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP), who was gunned down by insurgents in Maiduguri.
Efforts to obtain additional administrative statements from the Borno State Police Command spokesperson, Deputy Superintendent of Police Nahum Kenneth Daso, were unsuccessful at the time of publication, as calls and messages remained unanswered while security commands mobilized additional aerial and ground patrols to sanitize the corridor.
