Vice President Yemi Osinbajo has expressed sympathy to the families of the victims of yesterday’s suicide bombing of an IDP camp in Dikwa, Borno State.
The Vice President, in a statement by his spokesman, Laolu Akande, also condoled with the people and government of the state even as he prayed to God to comfort them and grant the injured persons quick recovery.
The Vice President said that it is regrettable that the heartless terrorists chose to unleash their wickedness on people who were taking refuge from previous acts of destruction in their homes.
He reassured the nation that the full weight of the federal government’s force will be deployed to hunt down the perpetrators of this evil act and also to confront terrorists continuously in the protection of life, liberty and property of all Nigerians.
Saying that there will be no hiding place for terrorists, Professor Osinbajo gave directives that formidable security in and around the IDP Camps in the country be beefed up and renewed measures put in place to guard against future occurrences.
The Vice President assured the people of Borno State and all Nigerians that the commitment of the federal government to safety of lives and property would continue to be of paramount concern to the Buhari administration.
The Vice President condolence message a few hours after suicide bombers hit the IDP Camp in Dikwa, Borno state, killing no fewer than 58 persons and injuring about 78 people.
The casualty figure was confirmed by officials of emergency and response agencies.
The incident occurred when the IDPs queued up to collect their morning food in the camp, which accommodates over 50,000 people displaced by the Boko Haram terrorism.
The Zonal Coordinator of the National Emergency Management Agency in the North East, Mohammed Kanar, said some of the dead have been buried, while the injured have been moved to medical facilities for adequate treatments.
In the last major attack on Borno State, the Boko Haram insurgents had attempted to hi the camp but were prevented from doing so by the military.
Three of them, with explosives strapped to their bodies, were killed before they could reach the camp.
Meanwhile, two soldiers have been arrested with several unauthorized military items at a motor park in Yola, the Adamawa State capital.
The soldiers, attached to 143 Battalion, have been identified as Sapper Eric Nwokorie (13NA/ 70/10183) and Sapper Macauley Fortune (13NA/70/10263). Both of them are Explosive Ordinance Device personnel.
Others, according to Usman, include one axe, one cutlass, one Jack knife, nine jungle hats, 11 pairs of Camouflage (nine desert and three woodland green), four military pullovers, one black beret, one green beret, one pair of number seven dress, two General Duty belts, 12 Army t-shirts, two rain coats, two water bottles, one pair of rain boot and five pairs of desert boots.
Usman said the soldiers were bent on tarnishing the image of the Nigerian Army despite all the successes being recorded by the Service in the fight against the Boko Haram insurgency and other crimes.
But Usman said this would not dampen the spirit of the troops battling the Boko Haram insurgents, adding: “this unfortunate incident notwithstanding, troops morale remains high as they continue to dominate the general area with aggressive raids, ambushes and patrols to clear the remnants of the terrorists hibernating in the area.” [myad]
