Abuja Blasts Expose Those Behind Them – Buhari
By Isiaka Wakili, Ronald Mutum, Muideen Olaniyi & Abubakar Sadiq Isah
Nigeria Daily Trust
Oct 4 2015 5:02AM
Rescue officials remove the remains of a victim yesterday from the scene of Friday night’s bomb blast in Nyanya, Abuja. PHOTO Abubakar Yakubu
President Muhammadu Buhari, condemning yesterday the latest terrorist attacks in Abuja, Maiduguri and Yola, asserted that the attacks have exposed the real faces of their perpetrators.
Buhari, in a statement he personally signed, said the attacks were “apparently timed to coincide with the Independence Day celebrations when Nigerians would be commemorating” the nation’s independence.
According to him, it is clear that the battle is not ideological but an act between the forces of peace and order as well as the evil forces of murder and destruction.
“These cowardly attacks expose the real faces of the planners and perpetrators of these crimes. What quarrel do they have with the good people of Nyanya motor park? What issue do they have with innocent people in market places in Maiduguri, Yola and Kuje? It is clear this battle is not ideological. It is between the forces of peace and order and the evil forces of murder and destruction”, Buhari said.
The president added that the security forces and other local authorities had been instructed to maintain extra vigilance to forestall future attacks, just as he assured that the Armed Forces had been empowered to crush “what remains of Boko Haram”.
He said his government was determined to stamp out the Boko Haram and “all other terrorists of whatever persuasion and bring all sponsors to justice”, and reiterated that despite the fresh attacks, the defeat of Boko Haram was in sight.
In a separate instance, the president stressed that Nigeria must first tackle the prevalence of violent extremism in order to make the nation safe.
He spoke at the Aso Rock Presidential Villa in Abuja yesterday after receiving a briefing from a fact-finding team he sent to the parts of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) bombed by terrorists Friday evening. The team comprised the Secretary to the Government of the Federation Babachir David Lawal, Chief of Staff to the President Abba Kyari, and permanent secretaries in the ministries of health and FCT and FCT police commissioner Mr. Wilson Inalegwu.
Buhari reiterated the determination of his government to rid the country of extremism, saying, “The defeat of Boko Haram insurgency is in sight but to remove violence and make the country safe, we must tackle the prevalence of violent extremism. In doing this, we will learn from the experience of the international community.”
In a related development, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity Malam Garba Shehu said in a statement yesterday that Buhari had directed the security services to raise their surveillance activities in order to meet the challenges of retreating members of desperate terrorist army.
The statement said the president sympathised with the families of the victims of the latest Abuja bombings and those of over 100 others killed in similar incidents few days ago in Borno State.
The president’s fact-finding team visited the Kuje and Nyanya bombing sites and victims of the incidents at the National Hospital and the Maitama General Hospital. The team also inspected the wards and mortuaries of the hospitals and consoled with grieving family members on behalf of Buhari.
Speaking during the visits, the police commissioner described the incidents as unfortunate.
Also reacting to the blasts in Nyanya and Kuje Friday night, Senate President Abubakar Saraki said the incidents were sad, especially “at a time we are making progress tackling insurgency problem.”
He called on Nigerians to “support our army and pray for the victims and their families.”
Similarly reacting to the incidents, the House of Representatives Speaker Yakubu Dogara expressed his condolences in a statement issued by his Special Adviser on Media and Public Affairs, Turaki Hassan. The statement said that with the successes being recorded by the military in the North-east, Boko Haram members faced imminent defeat, adding that the attacks were meant to instil fear in the minds of the citizens.
Dogara called for inter-agency intelligence gathering and sharing, urging people to be vigilant and security-conscious.
It would be recalled that in the latest multiple bomb attacks, no fewer than 18 people lost their lives.
The explosions, according to eyewitnesses, were carried out by a female suicide bomber around the Kuje police station at about 9:45 pm, while the second bomb, from a male suicide bomber on a motorcycle, was detonated in front of Kuje main market about 15 minutes later.
An eyewitness, Suleiman Yahaya, said the female suicide bomber unsuccessfully attempted to gain entrance into the police station through the fence, but the bomb strapped to her body exploded and killed her instantly. He said that about 15 minutes later, a young man on a motorcycle rode close to the entrance of the Kuje main market and detonated his explosives, killing 14 people, mostly traders, on the spot.
He added that 17 people who sustained various degrees of injuries were evacuated to the National Hospital in Abuja by officials of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) and Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC).
“At least, about 14 people died on the spot because I counted the bodies when officials of NEMA and civil defence corps came that night to evacuate the corpses,” he said.
However, a police corporal, Mr. Samuel Ocheche said it was only the female suicide bomber who targeted the police station that lost her life after she was prevented from gaining entrance through the main gate.
Another witness, Mr. Abraham Gabriel, said it was about 9:47 pm when he heard the sound of the bomb blast, adding: “When I first heard the sound, I thought it was a transformer that exploded, until I went there and discovered that it was a bomb blast and I saw dead bodies that littered the place.”
He said that together with some security agents, they evacuated 20 bodies into an ambulance, praising the security agents for coming to the scene about 15 minutes after the explosion.
NEMA yesterday said via Twitter: “Following a coordinated rescue operation at the scene of multiple explosions in both Nyaya and Kuje which are satellite towns of FCT Abuja, so far 15 persons lost their lives and 41 injured were evacuated to Nyaya and Asokoro general hospitals and the National Hospital in central Abuja.”
When Daily Trust on Sunday visited the scenes of the blasts in the morning of yesterday, a combined team of soldiers, police and civil defence corps had cordoned off the area while some NEMA officials were busy picking pieces of charred bodies into waste bags.
The Chief Medical Director (CMD) of Kuje General Hospital Dr. A.M Terbunde told newsmen that 18 victims were brought to the hospital by NEMA officials, saying 12 others were transferred to the Abuja National Hospital while others had been treated and discharged.
Meanwhile, the Inspector General of Police (IGP) Solomon Arase has ordered random stop-and-search operations by police detectives in and around the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
This followed the multiple bomb explosions in Nyanya and Kuje towns of Abuja Friday night.
Rescue officials have confirmed 15 dead and 41 injured in both blasts.
In a statement yesterday, the police spokesperson Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Olabisi Kolawole said, “Preliminary investigations revealed the bomb blasts were carried out by two suicide bombers - a male and a female.”
She said that following the incidents, the police ordered the deployment of explosives ordinance disposal units to the scenes to prevent further destructions.
She assured residents of Abuja and the entire country not to panic, saying the Nigeria Police would protect their lives and property.
Nigeria Daily Trust
Oct 4 2015 5:02AM
Rescue officials remove the remains of a victim yesterday from the scene of Friday night’s bomb blast in Nyanya, Abuja. PHOTO Abubakar Yakubu
President Muhammadu Buhari, condemning yesterday the latest terrorist attacks in Abuja, Maiduguri and Yola, asserted that the attacks have exposed the real faces of their perpetrators.
Buhari, in a statement he personally signed, said the attacks were “apparently timed to coincide with the Independence Day celebrations when Nigerians would be commemorating” the nation’s independence.
According to him, it is clear that the battle is not ideological but an act between the forces of peace and order as well as the evil forces of murder and destruction.
“These cowardly attacks expose the real faces of the planners and perpetrators of these crimes. What quarrel do they have with the good people of Nyanya motor park? What issue do they have with innocent people in market places in Maiduguri, Yola and Kuje? It is clear this battle is not ideological. It is between the forces of peace and order and the evil forces of murder and destruction”, Buhari said.
The president added that the security forces and other local authorities had been instructed to maintain extra vigilance to forestall future attacks, just as he assured that the Armed Forces had been empowered to crush “what remains of Boko Haram”.
He said his government was determined to stamp out the Boko Haram and “all other terrorists of whatever persuasion and bring all sponsors to justice”, and reiterated that despite the fresh attacks, the defeat of Boko Haram was in sight.
In a separate instance, the president stressed that Nigeria must first tackle the prevalence of violent extremism in order to make the nation safe.
He spoke at the Aso Rock Presidential Villa in Abuja yesterday after receiving a briefing from a fact-finding team he sent to the parts of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) bombed by terrorists Friday evening. The team comprised the Secretary to the Government of the Federation Babachir David Lawal, Chief of Staff to the President Abba Kyari, and permanent secretaries in the ministries of health and FCT and FCT police commissioner Mr. Wilson Inalegwu.
Buhari reiterated the determination of his government to rid the country of extremism, saying, “The defeat of Boko Haram insurgency is in sight but to remove violence and make the country safe, we must tackle the prevalence of violent extremism. In doing this, we will learn from the experience of the international community.”
In a related development, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity Malam Garba Shehu said in a statement yesterday that Buhari had directed the security services to raise their surveillance activities in order to meet the challenges of retreating members of desperate terrorist army.
The statement said the president sympathised with the families of the victims of the latest Abuja bombings and those of over 100 others killed in similar incidents few days ago in Borno State.
The president’s fact-finding team visited the Kuje and Nyanya bombing sites and victims of the incidents at the National Hospital and the Maitama General Hospital. The team also inspected the wards and mortuaries of the hospitals and consoled with grieving family members on behalf of Buhari.
Speaking during the visits, the police commissioner described the incidents as unfortunate.
Also reacting to the blasts in Nyanya and Kuje Friday night, Senate President Abubakar Saraki said the incidents were sad, especially “at a time we are making progress tackling insurgency problem.”
He called on Nigerians to “support our army and pray for the victims and their families.”
Similarly reacting to the incidents, the House of Representatives Speaker Yakubu Dogara expressed his condolences in a statement issued by his Special Adviser on Media and Public Affairs, Turaki Hassan. The statement said that with the successes being recorded by the military in the North-east, Boko Haram members faced imminent defeat, adding that the attacks were meant to instil fear in the minds of the citizens.
Dogara called for inter-agency intelligence gathering and sharing, urging people to be vigilant and security-conscious.
It would be recalled that in the latest multiple bomb attacks, no fewer than 18 people lost their lives.
The explosions, according to eyewitnesses, were carried out by a female suicide bomber around the Kuje police station at about 9:45 pm, while the second bomb, from a male suicide bomber on a motorcycle, was detonated in front of Kuje main market about 15 minutes later.
An eyewitness, Suleiman Yahaya, said the female suicide bomber unsuccessfully attempted to gain entrance into the police station through the fence, but the bomb strapped to her body exploded and killed her instantly. He said that about 15 minutes later, a young man on a motorcycle rode close to the entrance of the Kuje main market and detonated his explosives, killing 14 people, mostly traders, on the spot.
He added that 17 people who sustained various degrees of injuries were evacuated to the National Hospital in Abuja by officials of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) and Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC).
“At least, about 14 people died on the spot because I counted the bodies when officials of NEMA and civil defence corps came that night to evacuate the corpses,” he said.
However, a police corporal, Mr. Samuel Ocheche said it was only the female suicide bomber who targeted the police station that lost her life after she was prevented from gaining entrance through the main gate.
Another witness, Mr. Abraham Gabriel, said it was about 9:47 pm when he heard the sound of the bomb blast, adding: “When I first heard the sound, I thought it was a transformer that exploded, until I went there and discovered that it was a bomb blast and I saw dead bodies that littered the place.”
He said that together with some security agents, they evacuated 20 bodies into an ambulance, praising the security agents for coming to the scene about 15 minutes after the explosion.
NEMA yesterday said via Twitter: “Following a coordinated rescue operation at the scene of multiple explosions in both Nyaya and Kuje which are satellite towns of FCT Abuja, so far 15 persons lost their lives and 41 injured were evacuated to Nyaya and Asokoro general hospitals and the National Hospital in central Abuja.”
When Daily Trust on Sunday visited the scenes of the blasts in the morning of yesterday, a combined team of soldiers, police and civil defence corps had cordoned off the area while some NEMA officials were busy picking pieces of charred bodies into waste bags.
The Chief Medical Director (CMD) of Kuje General Hospital Dr. A.M Terbunde told newsmen that 18 victims were brought to the hospital by NEMA officials, saying 12 others were transferred to the Abuja National Hospital while others had been treated and discharged.
Meanwhile, the Inspector General of Police (IGP) Solomon Arase has ordered random stop-and-search operations by police detectives in and around the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
This followed the multiple bomb explosions in Nyanya and Kuje towns of Abuja Friday night.
Rescue officials have confirmed 15 dead and 41 injured in both blasts.
In a statement yesterday, the police spokesperson Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Olabisi Kolawole said, “Preliminary investigations revealed the bomb blasts were carried out by two suicide bombers - a male and a female.”
She said that following the incidents, the police ordered the deployment of explosives ordinance disposal units to the scenes to prevent further destructions.
She assured residents of Abuja and the entire country not to panic, saying the Nigeria Police would protect their lives and property.
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