- Gunmen free 144 inmates in Kogi
- Atiku: Boko Haram can overrun Nigeria
A suicide bomber yesterday detonated explosives during a religious procession in Potiskum, Yobe, killing himself and 25 worshippers, who are mostly children. It was gathered that the suicide bomber joined the religious procession and detonated the explosives.
Although the police put the casualty figure in the incident, which occurred about 11pm, at four, the leader of the Muslim Brotherhood in Yobe State, Mallam Mustapha Lawan Nasidi, told reporters that 25 persons were killed in the attack. Nasidi added that over 80 people injured in the incident were receiving treatment at the Potiskum General Hospital.
The state’s Commissioner of Police, Mr. Markus Danladi, who confirmed the incident, said: “I am just receiving a sketchy report of the incident. We are yet to receive the details because it is just happening now. I am on my way to Potiskum to see things for myself.” One of those in the procession, Mohammed Mai said: “We were four that came to the programme, but I can’t find any of them now. I don’t know whether they are dead or alive.”
Three months ago, Potiskum was jolted by a suicide bomb attack in a mosque in which scores of people were killed while many others were injured. Meanwhile, barely two years after a terrorist gang attacked and freed prison inmates at Koton Karfe Prison in Kogi State, another gang of gunmen on Sunday night bombed and again freed inmates at the prison.
After the attack, no fewer than 144 prison inmates were freed by the gunmen. Some of the freed inmates are said to be members of the Boko Haram. It was learnt that the hoodlums blocked the Lokoja-Koton Karfe and Abuja- Koton Karfe highway to prevent vehicular movements. Sources said after blocking the highway, the hoodlums started shooting sporadically and operated for three-and-a- half hours.
Some of inmates whose jail terms would soon be completed were said to have returned while others have escaped. While speaking with journalists at the premises of Koton Karfe prison yesterday, the Comptroller of Nigeria Prisons Services, Mr. Aminu Suley, confirmed that that atthe tack happened on Sunday night. Suley stated that the gunmen, who came in a large number around 10pm, forcibly gained entry into the prison to free all the inmates.
He said the prison accommodated 145 inmates, comprising 26 convicts and 119 awaiting trials. He said one prison inmate was killed in the attack while 12 others had been re-arrested. The state Governor, Idris Wada, who visited the prison, expressed shock at the incident. He promised that the state government will continue to provide adequate security in the state.
Also yesterday, former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar expressed fear that the Boko Haram insurgents could overrun the country if nothing is done urgently to tackle the menace. He called on the international community to come to the aid of Nigeria in fighting the insurgents. He said at a press briefing in Abuja that many citizens had lost faith in the ability of the Federal Government to quickly resolve the matter. “They suspect that the seeming inability of the government to end the crisis is a ploy to weaken some parts of the country ahead of the 2015 elections.
Can we, in all honesty, blame them for having those suspicions? “Nigeria needs world support. The world must not leave Nigeria at this time of great need. The way the insurgents easily overrun states suggest they can easily overrun the entire country in a matter of months. A crisis in one part of the country is a crisis in all parts of the country,” he added.
The former vice-president hinged his fear on the fact that no inch of the territory taken over by the insurgents has been recovered so far. Atiku, whose press briefing centred on the capture of Mubi by Boko Haram, decried the situation in the town.
In a related development, Adamawa, Borno and Yobe State governments have warned that if the Federal Government fails to step efforts to check the ravaging insurgency in the North-East, Boko Haram will soon capture the area.
The governors of the affected states said its seemed there was no seriousness in the fight against the insurgents, who have captured about 17 local government areas in the three states. Deputy Governor of Borno State, Zanna Umar Mustapha, who spoke to reporters in Yola, said with the effrontery of the insurgents, the three states would soon become history.
“If the Federal Government will not add extra efforts, in the next three months, the three North- East states will not be in existence.
“The Federal Government has tried its best, but its best is not enough because rather than going after the insurgents, it is the insurgents that are going after us,” he added. Meanwhile, suspected cattle rustlers have attacked several villages in Zamfara, killing 41 people. Several houses were also set ablaze while 30,000 hectares of farmlands were destroyed.
The attacks, which were carried out at the weekend, in Ruwan Mesa, Mashema and Gidan Kaso left 41 people dead. According to reports, the attacks claimed seven people in Mashema, 19 vigilante members in Gidan Kaso while 15 people lost their lives in Ruwan Mesa. The state’s Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) , Lawal Abdullahi, confirmed the attack and the killing of 13 members of the vigilante groups.
http://newtelegraphonline.com/suicide-bomber-wipes-out-25-worshippers-in-yobe/
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