Twenty-seven persons were killed and 62
others injured during bomb attacks on Monguno, a town about 135
kilometres from Maiduguri, the capital of Borno State.
A member of the youth vigilante group,
Idris Baba, told our correspondent on Tuesday that the Monguno attack
happened at about the same time 54 persons were killed through bombs
planted by members of the Boko Haram Islamic sect in Maiduguri on
Sunday.
He said a bomb explosion from a suicide
bomber hit the Onion section of a local market at Monguno on Sunday
evening, which resulted in the death of not less than 27 persons, mostly
traders.
A medical officer at the state
Specialists Hospital, Maiduguri, who spoke anonymously, said, “Five
vehicles conveyed 62 injured persons from the Monguno attack to the
Specialists Hospital in Maiduguri (on Monday afternoon) but we quickly
asked them to go to the University Teaching Hospital, because our
facilities are over-stretched.”
A resident of Monguno, Baana Abubakar,
who accompanied some of the injured persons to Maiduguri, confirmed to
our correspondent that 27 persons were killed.
“I
was at the Onion market after the bomb explosion to help in the rescue
of people. I counted 27 dead bodies from the scene,” he said.
“We lost 27 people in the bomb blast.
Our people have started burying the dead ones. One of the injured ones
we brought to Maiduguri today also died,” he said.
Confirming the attack, the Borno State
Police Commissioner, Aderemi Opadokun, in a text message, said, “Yes, at
about 1330 hrs of 21/9/15, caretaker Chairman of Monguno Local
Government reported an IED Explosion at Monguno Onion Market at about
2130 hrs of 20/9/15.
“Some people died on the spot while
others sustained various degrees of injuries. Injured victims were
transferred to UMTH, Maiduguri, while the dead were buried by their
relations. The scene has been visited. Investigation is presently in
progress.”
Monguno is the birth place of the National Security Adviser, Maj. Gen. Babagana Monguno.
Meanwhile, the pan-Northern
socio-political organisation, Arewa Consultative Forum, on Tuesday urged
the Nigerian military never to be deterred by the renewed bombing by
the Boko Haram insurgents in Maiduguri, Borno State.
The Boko Haram terrorists had on Sunday
carried out multiple suicide bombings which claimed 50 lives at Damari
and Bulunkutu areas of Borno State.
However, the ACF said in a statement by
its National Publicity Secretary, Muhammad Ibrahim, in Kaduna that the
military was already winning the war on insurgents and should not
relent.
According to the forum, with the renewed
effort of the military and the civilian JTF, Maiduguri had experienced
relative peace, “but for this wicked act of barbarism on September
20,2015.”
The ACF, while condemning the continued
use of suicide bombers by Boko Haram to kill innocent people, also
hailed the Nigerian military for the onslaught on the terrorists’
enclaves.
It noted that all the Nigerian military
needed to route out the insurgents was to intensify its intelligence
synergy with the community.
The northern body said,”Arewa
Consultative Forum was shocked and disturbed by the sad news of the
multiple bomb blasts again which occurred on Sunday September 20, 2015,
at Gomari and Bulunkutu areas of Maiduguri, the capital of Borno State,
killing about 50 people with many injured.
“The ACF condemns in strong terms the
continued use of suicide bombers by Boko Haram terrorists to kill
innocent people in the name of a religious war, as no religion condones
such cruel and barbaric act.
“The ACF wishes to commend the military
and other security agencies for the continued onslaught on the
terrorists’ enclaves and hideouts, thereby dislodging them from their
strong holds.
“The ACF urges the military not to be
deterred by the cowardly act of the Boko Haram terrorists, as their
renewed effort and determination will soon end the insurgency.
“The ACF also appeals to the military to intensify its synergy of sharing intelligence with the community.”
The ACF also condoled with families of
those who lost their loved ones, the government and people of Borno
State over the tragic incident.
PUNCH
No comments:
Post a Comment