The United States (US) warned yesterday that three luxury hotels in Abuja, preferred by foreigners, are the next targets of Boko Haram. Nigeria witnessed a bloody weekend on Friday and early Saturday when the Islamist sect struck at Damaturu and Potiskum in Yobe State as well as Maiduguri, Borno State.
One hundred people were reported killed in the attack but police admitted only 53. The main opposition party, Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), condemned alleged helplessness of the government, calling on the Presidency to sack security chiefs if they refused to resign.
The weekend attacks forced churches in Yobe State to suspend Subday service yesterday. Security was tightened at Eid Praying Grounds in the North as Muslims celebrate Sallah nationwide.
The unusually specific warning from U.S. diplomats identified possible Boko Haram targets. Those hotels (names witheld by us) draw diplomats, politicians and Nigerian industrialists daily in Abuja.
The embassy said the attack may come as Nigeria celebrates the Eid el-Kabir, and that its diplomats and staff had been instructed to avoid those hotels.
Ms Deb MacLean, an embassy spokeswoman, declined to offer further details about the threat or the source of the information yesterday.
Meanwhile, Catholic Pontiff, Pope Benedict XVI, yesterday appealed for “an end to all violence” in Nigeria after the deadly attacks by Islamist sect. The attacks on Friday targeted churches as well as police stations and an army base in Damaturu, Maiduguri and two small towns. “I follow with apprehension the tragic events reported in recent days in Nigeria,” the pope said after his weekly Angelus prayer.
Yet Boko Haram killed a police inspector yesterday in Maiduguri, the sect’s spiritual home. The gunmen stopped the officer’s car at gunpoint as he neared a mosque to pray with his family, Commissioner of Police, Simeon Midenda said. They ordered the family away, then shot the inspector to death, Midenda said. The sect members later allowed his family to drive the car away, he said. The killing prompted a frank acknowledgment from the police commander, whose men remain under siege from constant assassinations by the radical sect.
“Our men who live in the midst of the Boko Haram are not safe,” Midenda said. Statements issued late Saturday show the U.N. Security Council called the attacks Friday in the cities of Damaturu and Maiduguri “criminal and unjustifiable” and asked members to help Nigerian authorities bring those responsible to justice. In a statement issued by the National Publicity Secretary, Lai Mohammed, the ACN noted it is time for security chiefs to toe the path of honour by resigning or be kicked out. The ACN said it is now apparent that those saddled with ensuring the security of lives and property in the country are grossly incapable of doing so, hence the need to shake up the security agencies and put more capable men and women in charge.
“The shake-up must not spare any of the security chiefs. This is about taking responsibility. After all, they have consistently assured the nation they are capable of stopping these deadly attacks, which have now grown in number and ferocity,” it said. ACN said for a country not at war, the death of 53 people - as claimed by the police - is enough reason for any President to be concerned enough to take an urgent action to rectify the situation. The party slammed the President’s spin doctors for saying he cancelled his trip to Bayelsa for a family wedding in view of the attacks, saying that indeed is not what Nigerians want to hear at this point in time.
“In other climes, the President would have gone ahead to address his compatriots to reassure them that the government is still capable of protecting them, instead of merely telling them he cannot make a social trip,” it said.
Most churches in Damaturu, the Yobe State capital, could not hold their Sunday service yesterday following the Friday tragic attacks on churches and police formations by the Boko Haram. Many of the residents were still shocked by the Friday mayhem and bomb explosions which lasted till the early hours of Saturday. Many of the churches burnt by the sect could not hold their services while many residents were still scared to come out of their houses.
“Though, we were not affected, but we thought it was unsafe for us to hold Sunday Service because many of our members have said they would not attend. I think they are still scared and believe me, their fears are justified judging from the way the people came and the high casualty rate,” Mr Abodunde, a leader of one of the churches not burnt at New Jerusalem in Damaturu told Daily Sun on phone. But an official of the Living Faith Church also located at the New Jerusalem, Mr Sanusi disclosed that the church held its Sunday Service yesterday though the whole building and everything within the premises have been burnt. “We still surmoned courage to hold our service so as to strengthen the faith of our members though everything has been razed by the Boko Haram bombers. However, only few members turned up and I think people are still afraid,” he disclosed.
Meanwhile, the state Deputy Governor, Alhaaji Abubakar Aliyu, said the state government would assist the churches and individuals that were affected. He said government has identified those who carried out the attacks, promising to do everything possible to nip the insurgence in the bud. He urged the people to be calm and support the security agents in their bid to restore peace in the state. He also appealed for understanding on the dusk to dawn curfew. Following the threats of further attacks by the Boko Haram sect, Muslim faithful in Bauchi State marked the Sallah celebration yesterday amidst tight security.
Heavy security was witnessed in all praying grounds in the state capital as observed by our Correspondents, who went round to monitor the exercise. The state Commissioner of Police, Mr Ikechuwkwu Aduba, also assured that the command has put all forces on ground to tackle the Boko Haram insurgency during the Eid el Kabir festival.
The police boss said that security operatives were detailed to all the praying grounds in the state to forestall any attack from the Boko Haram.
The CP said: “We have operation order, which is out and we are going to use most of the forces available both from the local governments, all our divisions we are all prepared. Fun seekers were seen having good times in some spots such as the Roundabout near Emir’s palace, central markets and the Unity Park in Wunti.
SUN NEWS
No comments:
Post a Comment
Potrix Naija Blog