President Muhammadu Buhari has landed in Maiduguri, the Borno State capital, from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, to pay a sympathy visit to the government and people of the State, following the recent horrific incident in which Boko Haram terrorists killed several travellers. President Buhari left Abuja last Friday to attend the Thirty-third (33rd) Ordinary Session of Heads of State and Government of the African Union (AU) in Addis Ababa.

He was scheduled to return today. According to a tweet by his media aide, Garba Shehu, the president is “paying a sympathy visit to the government and people of Borno following the recent horrific incident in which Boko Haram terrorists killed several travellers”

The President Buhari, who also condoled with the government of the state, warned “that terrorists are clearly on a back foot and their days are numbered’’. “As our armed forces continue to receive more hardware and intelligence to counter our current security challenges, the remnants of Boko Haram will ultimately be crushed.

The peculiar challenges of asymmetric warfare notwithstanding, our armed forces are ever determined to defeat these enemies of humanity,’’ President Buhari said. Boko Haram insurgents on Sunday night killed 30 passengers from dozens of travellers that were forced to pass the night in Auno, a community 25 kilometres away from Maiduguri. Some of the victims, including a mother and an infant, were reportedly burnt beyond recognition by a fire from a petrol tanker set ablaze by the terrorists.

Witnesses said the terrorists, suspected to be loyal to Abubakar Shekau, also abducted 22 people and burnt 18 vehicles and properties worth millions of naira. Besides attacking the travellers, the insurgents also burnt shops and residential houses, witnesses said. The onslaught on Auno reportedly took place at around 9.50 pm when hundreds of travellers who were stopped by soldiers manning the road around 4.45 pm on Sunday were asleep.