ABUJA, Nigeria, Sept. 9 (UPI) -- Lt. Col. Adeboye Obasanjo, the son of former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo, was shot in an army offensive seeking to recapture towns in northeastern Adamawa state from Boko Haram.
Obasanjo's former aide, Muhammad Keffi, said the younger Obasanjo was in stable condition following the shooting.
The offensive, which was unsuccessful, followed Boko Haram's declaration last month that it has created an Islamic Caliphate in areas it controls in northeastern Nigeria.
Boko Haram now controls four towns in Adamwa: Bazza, Gulak, Madagali and Michika.
Nigeria's military is intensifying its air attacks, dropping bombs in Michika on Monday and targeting other Boko Haram-occupied areas on Tuesday.
There is increasing alarm that Boko Haram is changing its tactics, with militants not simply launching guerrilla attacks on villages but seizing control of towns, occupying them, and furthering territorial gains, particularly in Borno state.
Boko Haram began a campaign of terrorism in Nigeria in 2009, attempting to create an Islamic state and to deny Western-style education. Thousands of people have been killed, mostly in northeastern Nigeria since the attacks began. The United States declared it a terrorist group in 2013.
