Many missing as Boko Haram attacks officers patrolling national grid

Story by Victor Itodo ABUH

At least seven officers of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) are reported missing following an ambush by suspected Boko Haram insurgents in Kaduna State.

The attack occurred on Monday, November 18, in the Farin-Kasa area of Chikun Local Government Area, Kaduna State, as the NSCDC team was patrolling national grid installations in Shiroro Local Government Area of Niger State, a border region with Kaduna.

In a statement, NSCDC spokesperson Afolabi Babawale said the team, comprising nine NSCDC officers and 71 others, was dispatched in response to recent attacks on power infrastructure that led to blackouts in northern Nigeria.

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“Unknown to them, over 200 armed Boko Haram elements had laid ambush on a vengeful mission against security operatives who they claimed had been giving them problems, and from the top of a hill located at Farin-Kasa, they opened fire upon sighting the long convoy of the NSCDC monitoring team using different sophisticated weapons,” Babawale said.

Despite the ambush, the special squad reportedly neutralised over 50 of the attackers during the exchange.

However, seven NSCDC personnel remain “missing in action,” with efforts underway to locate them. Injured officers are currently receiving treatment.

Babawale also revealed that the NSCDC team had earlier rescued stranded expatriates in the Dagwachi village axis returning from a mining site in Tutu, Niger State, before encountering the ambush in Kaduna.

The NSCDC Commandant-General, Ahmed Audi, described the attack as “callous and unfortunate” but reaffirmed the agency’s commitment to protecting national assets and infrastructure.

The incident underscores the persistent threats to Nigeria’s critical infrastructure, with repeated attacks contributing to the ongoing national grid collapses and blackouts in the northern region.

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