Attack on convoy of WFP kills 4 in Nigeria

By Rafiu Ajakaye

LAGOS, Nigeria

At least four people were killed in an attack on a convoy of World Food Program (WFP) in Nigeria’s insurgency-wracked northeast.

"WFP can confirm that a convoy escorted by the Nigerian military including WFP hired-trucks was the subject of an attack by armed groups 35 km [22 miles] southwest of Ngala in Borno State on Saturday (Dec. 16),” Adedeji Ademigbuji, a spokesman of the humanitarian agency, said in a statement late Sunday.

“Four people, including the driver of a WFP-hired truck and a driver’s assistant, were killed in the incident. WFP extends its condolences to the bereaved families,” he added.

The attack underscores the increasing threats of the militants in the region despite government’s claim of having defeated them.

Although a UN convoy was last attacked in 2016, Boko Haram has ambushed several security convoys this year often resulting in deaths and abduction. In July, some heavily-guarded oil prospecting engineers were abducted or killed in the region.

Boko Haram has also heightened suicide bombings on soft targets in the area as army continues to curtail their capacity to launch physical attacks.