Four Killed in Yola Suicide Bombing, 145 Inmates Abscond After Prison Attack in Kogi

04 Nov 2014

 Boko Haram insurgents

•   Atiku, Borno dep gov decry rising capture of towns by Boko Haram

Michael Olugbode in Damaturu, Onyebuchi Ezigbo in Abuja, Timothy Ajiboye in Lokoja and Daji Sani in Yola

Four people have been confirmed killed in an attack on a religious procession in Potiskum, a commercial city in Yobe State.

A suicide bomber suspected to have been a member of the terror sect Boko Haram had lunged into a procession of Shiite Muslims celebrating the annual Ashurah (the 10th day of Muharram 1436 celebration).

Confirming the incident, the state Commissioner of Police, Mr. Markus Danladi, said in addition to the four people killed in the blast, five others were injured.

“The blast killed three members of the Muslim brotherhood plus the bomber, giving a casualty figure of four. But before we got to the scene, the group has evacuated the bodies of those affected by the blast,” the CP said.

The leader of the Muslim brotherhood in Potiskum, Mustapha Lawan, however, told journalists on the phone that 13 persons were killed on the spot owing to the blast, but the figure rose to 26 as many of the injured died on their way to the hospital or on getting there.

He said the figure might still rise, as many people were affected by the explosion.

Reacting to the bombing, the Governor of Yobe State, Alhaji Ibrahim Gaidam, condemned the attack on the religious procession in Potiskum, describing it as heinous, barbaric and unwarranted.

The governor, in a signed press statement by his media aide, Mallam Abdullahi Bego, said it was regrettable that the attack came at a time peace was returning to the state.

He said he was informed of “an attack in Potiskum town today (Monday) during an annual procession of members of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria marking Ashurah”.

Gaidam described those behind the attack as criminals “who want to fan the embers of religious discord” and called on all the people of the state to remain calm and vigilant.

He prayed for the repose of the souls of the persons killed in the bombing and for the quick recovery of those who have sustained injuries.

The governor also directed government hospitals in the area to provide immediate medical treatment to all victims of the attack free of charge.

The governor however did not give the casualty figure.
In another incident, the Deputy Governor of Borno State, Alhaji Zanna Umar Mustapha, has raised the alarm over the continued occupation of more towns and villages by Boko Haram insurgents in the North-east.

The deputy governor, who was in Yola, the Adamawa State capital, yesterday to sympathise with thousands of Borno indigenes who had been displaced by the insurgents, said the continuous hoisting of flags and capture of towns by the terrorists was worrisome.

He added that unless the federal government stepped up measures to counter Boko Haram, the North-east zone would soon fall under the full control of the insurgents.

He said with the alarming nature the insurgents seemed to be capturing territories with ease, the three North-east states of Adamawa, Yobe and Borno would be history in the next three months.

“The federal government has tried its best, but their best is not enough because rather than going after the insurgents, it is the insurgents that are going after us.

“It is a big crime that the criminals are better equipped and they are just a few kilometres from Adamawa, Borno and Yobe States,” he said.

The deputy governor revealed that 13 local governments in Borno, four in Adamawa and others in Yobe were under the control of the Boko Haram insurgents, warning that if nothing was done to save the situation, the North-east would fall under the control of the insurgents.

The deputy governor also suggested the training of locals to assist the military in the fight, adding that the military does not know who the insurgents are but the locals could easily identify them and their hideouts.

He said in some communities in Borno, the insurgents are afraid to launch attacks there because of their fear of the local vigilante groups which have given the military back up several times in the past.

He advised that more locals such as the Civilian JTF should be trained in the three affected states of the North-east.
Mustapha also appealed to the federal government to seek international assistance in order to bring an end to the activities of the insurgents in the country.

He said the purported ceasefire agreement between the federal government and the insurgents was not working because the insurgents were still killing innocent citizens despite the agreement.

The Adamawa State Governor Bala Ngilari, who also empathised with the displaced persons, said: “We are under siege now, though security agents are doing their best, But with prayers, Boko Haram will become a thing of the past.”

Ngilari said certain things in life, like the Boko Haram insurgency defies logic, expressing the hope that one day it would come to an end. He also urged the people to remain calm, assuring them that the insurgency would become history like the Second World War.

The governor appealed to Nigerians to assist the government in the fight against Boko Haram by divulging useful information to the security agencies so as to end the insurgency in the country.

Also lamenting the high number of local councils in the North-east under the control of Boko Haram, former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar said yesterday that the country was in serious danger of being overrun by terrorists, thereby making normal governance almost impossible.

Atiku said Boko Haram presently controls about 16 local government areas in three states of Borno (9), Adamawa (5) and Yobe (2).

Addressing journalists in Abuja on the recent upsurge in insurgent attacks, which claimed one of the key towns, Mubi, in his home state, Adamawa, Atiku urged the federal government and the international community to act more decisively to arrest the situation before it engulfs the entire nation.

The former vice-president, who was flanked by Senators Danjuma Goje (Gombe), Bukar Abba-Ibrahim, Mohammed Jubrilla (Adamawa), Aisha Alhasan (Taraba) and Senator Ahmed Zanna (Borno), said since the Boko Haram attacks began five years ago, the sect had successfully annexed 16 local government areas.

He said it was regrettable that Mubi, one of the largest towns in Adamawa State, had been taken over by Boko Haram, adding that inhabitants of Mubi and those who had fled there for safety were at the mercy of the terrorists.

“The situation in which we find ourselves today is grave.  Much of Borno, and the north of Adamawa and Yobe States is already at the mercy of the terrorists.  It started a few months ago with Bama, which is nearly 400 kilometres from Yola, capital of Adamawa State.

“The next major town to be taken by terrorists was Gwoza, where a terrorist caliphate flag has long been hoisted. Smaller towns near Gwoza such as Pulka and Limankra are equally not free.  Next was Madagali.  The town is still being occupied.  Then fell Gulak.  Next was Michika, then Bazza.

“Next was the twin town of Uba which is half Adamawa and half Borno.  Its neighbouring town of Lassa was also overrun.  Uba was the latest town captured before the terrorists trampled on Mubi.  People from these troubled areas are now pouring into Yola for safety,” he said.

Atiku, who is one of the presidential aspirants on the platform of the opposition party, All Progressives Congress (APC), expressed concern that in spite of the increased military budget, the situation in the North-east was deteriorating and people were finding themselves defenseless and dying.

He said the seeming inability of the government to win the war against the insurgents in five years had given rise to the perception that this is a ploy to weaken that part of the country and to use it as an advantage during election.

According to Atiku, “There is every reason to believe that the government has not exerted itself enough in dealing with the security situation,” adding that if he was in charge of affairs, the strategy would have been quite different.

“If I were in government, my response would have been very decisive and I would have used a greater fighting force from the area to deal with it.

“When we had problems in the Niger Delta, we established the Marine Commando and it helped. Somebody asked me what to do with the Civilian JTF and I said if I were in government, I would have recruited them, trained them and deployed them to fight Boko Haram.

“Why will you bring someone from Bayelsa to come to fight a war in a terrain totally different from the Delta region where he comes from. He will probably not cope.

“My view about the government is that they are not telling us what we should know. When the Chibok girls were taken, it took the government a while before they even came out to acknowledge they were kidnapped. Even when the international community said they would offer support, we were not informed what they did and what government is doing.”

Atiku appealed for assistance from the international community and other agencies, stressing that the situation had degenerated to a humanitarian crisis and a disaster of unimaginable proportions.

“Nigeria needs world support. The world must not leave Nigeria at this time of great need. The way the insurgents have easily overrun the states suggests they can easily overrun the entire country in a matter of months. A crisis in one part of the country is a crises in all parts of the country,” he warned.

Meanwhile, for the second time in two years, suspected members of Boko Haram sect on Sunday night invaded the Nigeria prison yard in Koton-karfe, kogi State, where they set free all 145 inmates serving various terms in the prison.

The insurgents stormed the prison around 10 pm when most of the guards were not at their duty posts as most of them had gone home when the incident occurred.

Prison sources said most times, prison guards usually lock up the inmates in their cells and retired to their homes close to the prison, after which they returned in the mornings to hand over to the guards on the morning shift.

It was observed that the insurgents gained access to the facility by breaking the wall of the prison, from there they moved to the record office where they burnt all the inmates’ documents before they proceeded to the inmates’ cells to free the prisoners.

The prison was built in 1934 for only 50 inmates but at the time of its attack, it held 145 inmates, of which 119 were awaiting trial and only 26 were convicted prisoners.

Briefing Governor Idris Wada who paid a visit to the prison, the Kogi State Controller of Prisons, Mr. Omale Adams, confirmed that the incident occurred around 10 pm when unknown gunmen invaded the prison and overpowered his men who were on duty.

He said all the 145 inmates were set free by the insurgents.

According to him, “When I got the information that external forces had invaded the prison, I immediately put a call to you but I was not able to get across to you. Then I got in touch with other senior government officials who assisted me to reach you.

“From there, we informed the army, SSS and police and they were quickly mobilised for action. But before they could get here, the damage had been done.”

He said during the attack, one of the inmates was killed while 12 were re-arrested, adding that efforts were ongoing to arrest all the fleeing inmates.