The Director-General of Borno State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA), Dr Barkindo Saidu, who confirmed more blasts in Gwoza and the rise in number of people killed to 18 said in a situation report obtained by the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that the death comprised adult males, females and children.
He added that the first blast by a suicide bomber took place at a wedding ceremony, while the second blast occurred at the funeral service of victims when another female suicide bomber rushed into the congregation on Saturday.
Saidu said, “19 people seriously injured were conveyed to Maiduguri in four ambulances, while 23 others are waiting for military escort in the Medical Regimental Services (MRS) Clinic.
“I am now coordinating for a chopper tonight. I have mobilised emergency drugs to complement the shortage of drugs in Gwoza. The degree of injuries range from abdominal raptures to skull and limb fractures. I’ve also received a report that there is a suspected suicide bomber in Pulka,” Saidu added.
Nigerian President, Bola Ahmed Tinubu in a statement strongly condemned the bomb attacks, describes it as desperate acts of terror and a clear manifestation of pressure mounted against terrorists and the success achieved in degrading their capacity to launch offensives.
The President declared that the purveyors of wanton violence shall have certain encounter with justice, and that these cowardly attacks are only but an isolated episode as his govt will not allow the nation to slither into an era of fear, tears, sorrow, and blood.
Tinubu stated that his administration is taking necessary measures to secure citizens, emphasizing that efforts will be redoubled to ensure that those who trouble the nation, dispatching precious lives, and disrupting law and order are completely removed.
He consoled with the victims of the attacks, the families of the deceased, as well as the government and people of Borno State.
Also on X, the former Vice President, Abubakar Atiku condemned the suicide bombing at a wedding reception, funeral procession, and a hospital on Saturday, while feared that the ugly incidents of terrorism are resurfacing and, indeed, metastasising in the North-East.
According to him, “It is unfortunate that much of the pushback that had been achieved against the Boko Haram terror sect are being cancelled, owing mainly to the government’s lacklustre posture to hold firmly on the frontline.
“It is thus important to call on the federal authorities to wake up to their responsibility and to make sure that the North-East does not slide back into a theatre of terrorism and extreme violence”.
The former Vice President further said, “My condolences go to the families of victims of these attacks, and it is my prayer that God grants a peaceful repose to the souls of the departed”.
Meanwhile, the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the coordinated attacks, which took many by surprise, were shocking to the people of Borno who experienced such at the height of the insurgency between 2024 and 2014.
