At least seven Nigerian security personnel are missing after an ambush by Boko Haram insurgents in Niger state.
The attack occurred Monday in Shiroro, where 80 operatives from the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps were patrolling the power grid.
Babawale Afolabi, a spokesperson for the agency, revealed the convoy faced over 200 insurgents in a brutal confrontation.
Authorities confirmed that at least 50 Boko Haram fighters were killed in the exchange, yet seven security operatives remain unaccounted for.
Boko Haram, notorious for its violent insurgency, has increasingly targeted Nigeria’s power infrastructure.
Last month, northern Nigeria suffered a week-long blackout due to their sabotage of vital equipment.
While the group primarily operates in northeastern Nigeria, Niger state has become a battleground for their expanding presence.
The region has witnessed previous attacks against both military forces and civilians.
The insurgency, launched in 2009, aims to impose strict Sharia law and reject Western education.
Over 35,000 civilians have been killed, and more than 2 million displaced in Nigeria’s northeast, according to the United Nations.
Global attention intensified in 2014 when Boko Haram kidnapped 276 schoolgirls from Chibok, shocking the world with their brutality.
Recent violence persists; in September, over 100 villagers in northeastern Nigeria were massacred by suspected Boko Haram militants, with attacks spanning homes, markets, and places of worship.
Efforts to locate the missing operatives continue, as Nigeria grapples with the devastating toll of this ongoing insurgency.
