ShareIT was another day of horror and gnashing of teeth in the northern part of Nigeria on Monday, as 11 people, including three suicide bombers, were killed in an early hour bomb explosion that shook the city of Jalingo, the Taraba State capital.
The suicide bombers were said to have attacked the convoy of the state Commissioner of Police, Mr Mamman Sule, a few metres to his office, killing 11 passers-by in the ensuing explosions that shredded the bombers.
Twenty people, including an out-rider in the convoy of the commissioner sustained varying degrees of injuries in the attack and they were said to be on danger list at the Federal Medical Centre (FMC), Jalingo.
This came just as 20 gunmen around 1.00 a.m. swooped on a mobile police base – Mobile Base 38 – in Akwanga, Akwanga Local Government Area of Nasarawa State, also on Monday, killing a police corporal, Madak Yusuff, instantly.
The Nigerian Red Cross, speaking through the coordinator of its information unit, Mr Umar Waziri, confirmed the casualty figure in the Taraba attack.
However, the police boss, while briefing newsmen after the incident, put the figure of those killed at three, saying only eight persons were injured.
He said the horrific incident happened at about 8.45 a.m., when he was approaching his office, adding that although no arrest had been made, the command had invited a team of bomb experts to assist in further investigation.
Although the police commissioner denied being injured in the attack, he admitted that the possibility of some of the vehicles in his convoy being damaged could not be foreclosed.
He stated that the command would re-strategise in its bid to contain terrorists as well as prevent future occurrence.
He implored members of the public to furnish police with information that could assist in nipping criminal acts in the bud, assuring them of utmost confidentiality whenever they do so.
When the Nigerian Tribune visited the hospital where the injured were receiving medical attention, doctors were seen battling hard to save the lives of the patients.
At the time of this report, commercial activities were completely paralysed as banks and business premises were shut. The few banks that opened for business were heavily guarded by the police.
The gunmen, in the attack on police formation in Nasarawa were said to have gained entrance into the formation through the back of the premises.
They reportedly shot sporadically on entering the facility before they were quickly demobilised by the mobile police on duty.
The state Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Cornelius Ocholi, confirmed the incident to the Nigerian Tribune by telephone, adding that the number of the attackers could not be ascertained since the onslaught was carried out around 1.00 a.m.
He added that investigation had begun and that the perpetrators would soon be fished out.
It was gathered that the late corporal was hit by a bullet during an exchange of gunfire between the assailants and the police. He was said to have died before reaching Ola Hospital in the area, where he was rushed for treatment.
A member of the Akwanga community, who preferred anonymity, said the casualty figure would have risen were it not for the alacrity of the policemen on duty, who quickly overpowered the assailants.
Meanwhile, an atmosphere of mourning pervaded Maiduguri, the Borno State capital, on Monday as the corpses of the five people killed in a church in Dusman, Jere Local Government Area of the state were released to their families from the state teaching hospital.
Widows, orphans, families and friends as well as associates and sympathisers of the deceased wept uncontrollably on sighting the corpses.
The deceased Christians, including a pastor and a church secretary, were attacked by the gunmen between 8.00 and 9.00 a.m. during a Sunday service, almost about the same time another set of gunmen struck in Bayero University, Kano.
According to the police, the late pastor, Reverend Albert Naga of the Church of Christ in Nigeria (COCIN) and other worshippers were shot in the head.
Police spokesperson, Samuel Tizhe, who confirmed the attack, said the pastor was killed while administering Holy Communion to worshippers in the church by suspected Boko Haram members.
A cross section of citizens and residents in the state condemned the attacks in the state and Kano, describing it as barbaric, inhuman and ungodly.
Meanwhile, President Jonathan has condemned what he said was murderous terrorist attack on the campus of Bayero University, Kano and the brutal killing of innocent worshippers at the university on Sunday.
Jonathan, in a statement by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Dr Reuben Abati, on Monday, said he regretted “this utterly heinous descent to new depths of calumny by perpetrators of the attack on one of the nation’s most hallowed citadels of academic endeavour and its members.”
The president urged Nigerians to remain united in their condemnation and rejection of the terrorists, who, he observed, had shown even more clearly by the latest attacks on the media and the academic community that their objective was to destabilise the nation and its vital institutions.
He conveyed his deepest sympathy and condolences to the families of members of the university community who lost lives in the attack.
Meanwhile, President Jonathan has reassured Nigerians and foreigners resident in Nigeria that his administration is taking every necessary action to end the spate of terror attacks in the country.
Against the background of the recent upsurge in terrorist attacks, the latest of which occurred in Jalingo on Monday, President Jonathan urged Nigerians and foreigners living in the country not to be discouraged or deterred from going about their regular affairs.
In a press statement signed by Dr Abati, which was made available to the Nigerian Tribune on Monday, the president also condemned assault on innocent citizens in Jalingo and reaffirmed his unwavering commitment to curbing terrorism in Nigeria.
Noting, however, that success in the war against terrorism would be more speedily achieved with greater support and assistance from affected communities, President Jonathan called on all patriotic Nigerians, once again, to promptly report all suspicious persons to national security agencies.
He also extended condolences to the families of the victims of the bombings in Jalingo and wished the injured speedy recovery.
In the face of recent spate of bombing attacks in the country, the Oodua Nationalist Congress (ONC) has asked the Federal Government to find and bring to justice the perpetrators of the numerous bombings that have killed many or risk a reprisal.
ONAC, in a statement on Monday, said it had run out of patience with the attitude of the government to the attacks on Nigerians by the Boko Haram sect.
It said Yoruba nationalist groups would soon embark on a reprisal if nothing was done urgently.
The statement, signed by its public affairs secretary, Alhaji Yinusa Akinkunmi, said ONAC was greatly disturbed by the recent killings of two Yoruba professors, Jerome Ayodele and Andrew Leo Ogbonyomi, in BUK.
The group added that it was time the South-West governors set up community security outfits, to save the people from the consuming fire of the Boko Haram, adding that “if the current ACN leaders fail to do this, the people, on their own, will rise up to the occasion for self-preservation.”
Students uncover another bomb planted in BUK
Another disaster was averted at the new site of BUK on Monday evening, when a bomb planted inside Sociology Department was uncovered by students.
A source, who preferred anonymity, said it was some students uncovered the bomb on Monday evening.
Immediately it was uncovered, the Joint Task Force was notified, which immediately alerted the anti-bomb squad of the police.
Confirming the report , the state Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Magaji Majioya, said the police were informed of the explosive device, saying their men immediately went to the scene.
“We have defused the uncovered bomb planted in the university. No life was lost and no injury sustained,” he said.
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Bomb blast in Taraba, 11 killed •1 corporal killed in Nasarawa •As Jonathan regrets killing •Yoruba group threatens revenge •Another disaster…