The Nigerian Army has given assurance that it would apprehend those who were behind the Saturday twin bomb blasts which killed at least nine persons in Maiduguri, the Borno State capital.
Colonel Mustapha Anka, the Deputy Director, Army Public Relations Department, who spoke today, Saturday in Maiduguri, said that the blast occurred at the Bakassi Internally Displaced Persons camp and the NNPC fuel station along Damboa Road.
“At about 7.05 a.m. this morning, there were twin simultaneous suicide bomb explosions at the entrance of Bakassi Internally Displaced Persons camp and NNPC Mega Filling Station, Damboa Road, Maiduguri.
“At the Bakassi IDPs camp, a suspected female suicide bomber ran into a group of men and women at the entrance while they were coming out of the camp, killing 5 men and injuring 11 women.
“The bodies of the dead men and the injured women have been evacuated. At the NNPC, a female suicide bomber followed a fuel tanker in Keke NAPEP tricycle with the sole aim of gaining entry to cause maximum damage and casualty but was prevented from gaining access to the station by another vehicle.”
According to Anka, the suicide bomber exploded killing the three occupants of the tricycle with no report of injuries.
He said that the Acting General Officer Commanding, Brigadier General Victor Ezugwu, had already visited the scene to get first class information.
“The Acting GOC 7 Division has already visited the place and appealed to the people to be calm as concerted efforts were on to ensure the safety of lives and property.
“Troops and security agencies have been mobilised and the injured have been evacuated while efforts are ongoing to comb the general area as well as entries and exits of Maiduguri.
“While we commiserate with the families of the late victims of this cruel act and wish those injured speedy recovery, we would like to assure the public that efforts are ongoing to track those behind the dastardly acts.
“However, it is equally important to reiterate the need for more vigilance and security consciousness among all. Citizens are enjoined to report any suspicious persons or movements to the security agencies.”
Meanwhile, the National Emergency Management Agency, in a statement, has also confirmed the killing of nine persons in the blasts.
NEMA spokesman, Sani Datti, confirmed too that  nine persons were killed and 24 persons injured and evacuated to various hospitals from the explosion scenes in Maiduguri.

In a statement in Abuja, Datti said that one of the explosions occurred at the entrance to the Bakasi Internally Displaced Persons camp, while the second happened at the NNPC filling station along Damboa Road, Maiduguri.
He said that the injured persons had been evacuated from the scene of the incidents and admitted to various hospitals in Maiduguri.
“As at the time of this report, the NEMA rescue team had evacuated victims. More updates on the incidents and rescue details will come later,” the spokesman said. [myad]

The Police Service Commission has approved the dismissal of six senior officers for various offences ranging from impersonation to forgery, insubordination, negligence and disobedience to lawful order.
The dismissals were part of the decisions taken by the Commission on 55 disciplinary cases brought before it at its 17th Plenary Meeting in Abuja today, Thursday.
The Commission however, ordered the promotion of four Deputy Commissioners of Police to the next rank of Commissioners. They are Posi E. Ajunwa, Akinsanmi Francis Ayo, Kenneth Ebrimson and Akpoebi Agberebi Egbuson.
The Commission also approved the promotion of 17 Assistant Commissioners of Police to Deputy Commissioners and 78 Chief Superintendents of Police to Assistant Commissioners of Police.
The two-day meeting which was presided over by the Chairman of the Commission, Sir Mike Mbama Okiro, a retired Inspector General of Police, also endorsed the promotions of one Superintendent of Police to Chief Superintendent of Police, 12 Deputy Superintendents of Police to Superintendent of Police and one Assistant Superintendent of Police to Deputy Superintendent of Police.
Two Chief Superintendents of Police were appointed Assistant Commissioners of Police on acting capacity, two Superintendents of Police to acting Chief Superintendents of Police, two Deputy Superintendents of Police to acting Superintendent of Police, six Assistant Superintendents of Police to acting Deputy Superintendents of Police and twelve Inspectors to acting Assistant Superintendents of Police.
The Commission also rejected the recommendation for special promotion of one DSP and one Inspector and returned the recommendation for the appointment of a Deputy Commissioner of Police to Commissioner of Police on acting capacity for proper presentation.
It also withheld the special promotion of nine other senior Police Officers for failure of the Police to provide convincing reasons for such promotions.
The promoted Commissioners of Police had earlier on Thursday appeared before the Commission in Plenary where they were subjected to questions on the change agenda of the Nigeria Police Force. [myad]

The first Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Nuhu Ribadu, has recounted the many battles he and his team had fought with people at the high echelon of the society who were found to bee neck-deep in corruption.
The anti corruption czar who spoke at the 2016 Annual Lecture of Radio Nigeria in Abuja today, Thursday he had passed through the same road the present EFCC is passing through, with reference to the recent raid on the homes of suspected corrupt judges by security agencies.
He said that he had to arrest his former boss, an Inspector General of Police who was accused of stealing over N10 billion of public funds.
“We have passed the same road before. As at the time we started taking up some state governments, some of the governors felt we were overreaching ourselves. They ganged up to stop us but we persevered. Some of them even went to court but today that has been accepted as normal.
“It was similar with the case of the National Assembly, when we went after the then Senate President. Another example is our taking up of the Inspector General of Police. Here was I and my colleagues, middle level and junior police officers taking on the IG. It was unimaginable! The day that arrest was made it was like the sky would fall. But it came to pass.
“It is similar situation we are having today. However, even if we disagree with the method, we have to appreciate the fact that what is being done is needed.
“The Judiciary should understand this and cooperate fully. We have to have this all-out war against corruption without sparing any sacred cow.
“If there is one area we need national consensus now, it is in supporting this effort to tackle corruption. As most of you know, I belong to the Law profession and I therefore share the concern of some of my colleagues. However, we should all resolve to support the government and those doing the work to get us through this phase.
“Though there is consensus about the need to stop corruption, it is usually in fighting it those disagreements usually arise. With fighting corruption often comes ripples and discomfort as we have seen recently with the probes in the judiciary. It is normal. But we have to withstand the pressure and move on.”
Ribadu insisted that there is no method too much in the effort to tackle corruption even as he appealed to Nigerians to support the effort so as to save the country from collapse.
Ribadu likened corruption to a termite that is capable of destroying the nation’s economic structure, no matter how well it is built, adding: “almost everything that is wrong with our politics and economy can be traced to the menace of corruption.
“This is why we have to fight it. We fight corruption because it is our money;our commonwealth that is being misappropriated and stolen by the people we entrust with the leadership and management of our system.
“We also fight corruption because it increases the cost of doing business in our country. Corruption deprives the poor of prosperity and perpetuates poverty in that when the poor person has to pay for services that should otherwise be free, and he does not have the money; that excludes him from accessing a number of things-education, healthcare or even food.
“We equally fight corruption because it destroys public trust and undermines the rule of law and the state itself.
“Fighting corruption therefore is key to the survival and progress of our economy. When we fight corruption with the seriousness and sincerity it deserves, we safeguard our local economy and our country.” [myad]