Lafarge Says No Injuries at Nigerian Plant After Northeast Raids
Lafarge Africa Plc (WAPCO) said no one was injured by intruders at one of its cement plants in northeastern Nigeria as suspected Boko Haram Islamist militants raided nearby locations yesterday.
Ashaka Cement Plc (ASHAKACE), in Nigeria’s Gombe state, “was the target of an intrusion by people who were strangers to the plant,” Viola Graham-Douglas, a spokeswoman for Lagos-based Lafarge Africa, said in an e-mailed statement today. “However, the situation has now stabilized and there is no report of any injury to employees or damage to the plant.”
The raiders loaded vehicles with rock-blasting explosives and drove them away from the plant, Yusuf Bojude, a witness, said by phone. They had earlier attacked Nafada, a town in Gombe, state police spokesman Fwaje Attajiri said by phone, without giving further details.
Gombe, which borders three states of Nigeria that have been under emergency rule since last May, has suffered an upturn in gun and bomb attacks carried out by suspected Boko Haram insurgents. The Islamist rebellion has killed 13,000 people in the past five years, according to Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan.
Source: Bloomberg
