Worsening insecurity in north: Ansaru claims responsibility for attack on Emir of Potiskum

An alternate militant group to the Boko Haram in northern Nigeria, the Ansaru, at the weekend, claimed responsibility for the attack on the convoy of the Emir of Potiskum, Yobe State, who was on his way to Kaduna.

The Ansaru militant group struck when convoy of the Emir was traveling along the Kaduna-Zaria highway last Wednesday. The militants had killed about six persons in the convoy of the Emir in the attack.

It was gathered that the Emir and his entourage were on their way to Zaria, Kaduna State, on visitation tour of some traditional institutions in the north as part of preparations for the official inauguration of the Potiskum Central Mosque, Yobe, scheduled for Saturday.

The Ansaru was formed in 2012 as a counter force to Islamic Boko Haram with the claim of defending the Christians in Nigeria. The group has been inactive in perpetuating violence over the years.

It was gathered that the group’s last attack was in February 2013 when seven foreign nationals were kidnapped from a compound owned by the Lebanese construction company, Setraco, in Kano.

The attack in the royal father signaled the comeback of Ansaru to the theater of violence, generating fears of worsening violence in the north.

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