Jonathan condemns Boko Haram’s focus on soft targets
Military video shows terrorists in disarray
By Bashir Mohammed, Kano, Sadiq Abubakar, Maiduguri, and Abdullahi M. Gulloma, Abuja
The new attack style adopted by Boko Haram in which suicide bombers disguise as innocent passengers has resulted in the death of at least 27 people in two separate terrorist attacks in Yobe and Kano states yesterday.
The blast at the famous Kano Line motor park located along Zaria Road in Kano was detonated by two male suicide bombers who disguised themselves as passengers, killing 12 people, while the one in Potiskum, Yobe state, resulted in the death of 15 people at yet another motor park attack.
President Goodluck Jonathan has condemned the attacks, noting that it was a reversion by Boko Haram to the bombing of soft targets in the wake of the ongoing rapid recovery of areas formerly controlled by the sect by Nigerian troops and their multinational allies.
The official figure of 12 dead in Kano included the two suicide bombers, though some eye witnesses said they were set on fire by an angry mob.
Confirming the casualty figure to newsmen shortly after the blast, the state Commissioner of Police, Alhaji Ibrahim K. Idriss, said from the preliminary investigation conducted by his men at the scene, 12 people were confirmed dead, including the two suicide bombers.
An unspecified number of people were seriously injured.
According to him, the two bombers took passengers at the station offguard after camouflaging as passengers wishing to travel, saying as soon as they got seated in the Sharon bus they boarded they detonated the explosives.
Idriss, however, stated that the casualty figure was based on preliminary investigation, promising to keep the press posted on further development.
“We have just commenced preliminary investigation and we are going to conduct a thorough investigation with a view to unraveling what had exactly transpired,” he said.
“We are going to inform you about further development; you people should just bear with us.”
Eyewitnesses, however, gave a conflicting account of how the tragedy occurred, claiming that the bombers were three in number and had found their way into the station by scaling the fence from the back of the park.
One of the attackers escaped unscathed, the witnesses said.
An eyewitness who spoke to our correspondent on condition of anonymity faulted the casualty figure given by the police, saying the corpses he counted personally were higher in number than those given by the police.
According to the witness, the two bombers who were said to have died in the blast were actually set ablaze by the angry mob at the scene while sympathizers were seen rushing to catch a glimpse of the sad episode.
Many people who spoke to our correspondent attributed the tragedy to the alleged failure of the federal government to decisively tackle the issue of insecurity in spite of a series of promises to that effect.
In Potiskum, a female suicide bomber reportedly alighted from a Keke NAPEP tricycle opposite the Tashar Dan Borno motor park, ran into passengers at the park located along Kano Road, and set off an explosive device.
A nursing officer at the hospital in the town revealed that so far 15 dead bodies were deposited at the mortuary while 53 others were lying critically injured at the hospital.
“This is the worst suicide bombing so far recorded since the commencement of the insurgency,” the nurse said, adding that there was a strong possibility that the death toll would rise considering the extent of the injuries so far on ground.
Our correspondent noted that suicide bombings have increased in Potiskum, the commercial nerve centre of Yobe state, in recent times.
A female suicide bomber had last Sunday hit the GSM market in the town, killing five and injuring several others.
Motor parks, markets, restaurants and several other public places have continued to remain targets of Boko Haram insurgents.
In his reaction to yesterday’s incidents, President Jonathan condemned the attacks and commiserated with the families who lost their loved ones in the bombings.
In a statement, his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Dr Reuben Abati, said the president shares the grief of all the bereaved families and was “deeply saddened by the continued loss of many innocent lives at the hands of desperate fanatics who are now feeling the heat of the intense counter-insurgency operation by the Nigerian Armed Forces.”
Abati said: “The president assures all Nigerians and the people of the North-eastern states in particular that the days of mourning victims of incessant terrorist attacks in the country will soon be over as the tide has now definitely turned against Boko Haram.
“President Jonathan further assures the people of Nigeria that the gallant, courageous and patriotic officers and men of the Nigerian Armed Forces, supported with new platforms, equipment and logistics provided by the Federal Government, will carry the ongoing operations against the terrorists through to a successful conclusion in the shortest possible time.
“He affirms that his administration will continue to take all necessary action to guarantee the success of ongoing military operations against the terrorist group and drastically reduce its ability to take and hold territory or recruit, groom and brainwash young persons to undertake suicide bombing attacks on soft targets.”
In a related development, a video released by the military yesterday showed Boko Haram members in disarray as the Nigerian Air Force continued to bombard their hideouts.
In the video, the terrorists were seen in complete disarray from their hideouts, under a hail of aerial bombardments by the NAF aircraft.
The Nigerian military, in well-coordinated operations which involve the Air Force and ground troops, have maintained the momentum over Boko Haram which they attain in the last few weeks.
The massive air operations have destroyed some of the terrorists’ hideouts around Baga, Gwoza, Sambisa, Bama and Pulka.
