An explosion near a church killed four children in Nigeria's northeastern state of Borno on Thursday, a region which has been beset by attacks by a radical Islamist sect, police said.
The blast in the town of Damboa, around 90 km (56 miles) south of the state capital Maiduguri, came just hours after a suspected suicide bomber detonated explosives outside the national police headquarters in the capital Abuja.
"The children were playing in a compound near the church when the blast went off, killing the four and wounding another," Borno state police commissioner Jinjiri Abubakar told Reuters, adding that the blast appeared to have been caused by a bomb.
Boko Haram, a radical Islamist group which wants a wider application of strict Islamic law across northern Nigeria, is suspected of being behind almost daily attacks in Borno state for several months.
Police also said the group was believed to have been responsible for the attack on their headquarters in Abuja on Thursday, which killed several people.
The Inspector-General of Police Hafiz Abubakar Ringim, NPM, mni has expressed his displeasure over the suicide bomb attack on vehicles parked at the Force Headquarters, Abuja car park.
The unfortunate incident which led to the death of the suicide bomber and a Police traffic warden occurred at about 1100hrs of 16/06/2011 when the suicide bomber vehicle was intercepted and directed to the car park for searching and checking.
The Traffic Warden who entered the vehicle of the suicide bomber to direct him to the car park was blown off along with him as soon as they got to the car park.
The IGP wishes to appreciate the efforts of the fire service and the team of armed forces fire service who promptly responded to put off the fire.
The body of the suicide bomber has been recovered and a full investigation has commenced.
Members of the public are assured that the criminal elements behind this dastardly attack will be fished out as the government, the Police and other security agencies will not succumb to the demand of any criminal group or individual.
The coalition of groups behind ProtectTheCorpers formed in the wake of the killing of young National Youth Service Corps members in the North has called on the Federal Government and the Government of Rivers State to give the nation a report on the whereabouts of the kidnapped corps members in the state and the plans to get them to their families safe.
“Tomorrow, the 16th of June, is the passing out parade for the Batch B Corps Members, and more than once week since Olumide Yusuf and 4 other female corp members were kidnapped from Community Secondary School in Omademe village Ikwerre LGA of Port Harcourt, Rivers State,” said Chude Jideonwo, of The Future Project. “The matter of kidnapping is one of general national concern and is not specifically an NYSC issue, and as such we had hoped, as with all Nigerians, the government would decisively tackle this development, but we are alarmed that about ten days later, these young helpless people serving their nation are yet to be found!”
The coalition described as “unconscionable”, the fact that expatriates and prominent Nigerians happen to find freedom based on the negotiation and activities of various government functionaries, but in this case there has been a surprising national silence.
“This comes as we should be gladded by news that the Federal Government for acceding to the first of its seven demands for short-term measures to guarantee the safety and security of young Nigerians under the National Youth Service Scheme,” said Yemi Adamolekun of the EnoughisEnough movement. “The number one demand was for the government to “Identify violence-prone “hot-spots” states and/or districts and ensure that corps member posting to these areas is voluntary. This voluntary posting must also come with an institutionalized incentive. In news reports last Friday, Gabriel Ibe, the Oyo State Coordinator of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), announced that the NYSC management will no longer post corps members to crisis prone areas in the country; revealing that each state coordinator has been so directed and the directive will take effect with the next deployment of corps members on July 7.”
This sad development follows the conclusion of the coalition’s petition drive. It will be recalled that the call for signatures for the formal petition to be forwarded to the Presidency and the Ministry for Youth Development was brought to a successful close after the petition was brought to the attention of the President at his pre-inauguration meeting with young Nigerian leaders and groups. The coalition extracted a commitment from the President to speed up the process of reforming the youth corps scheme amid a directive to his Minister for Youth Development who was also present at the meeting.
“Unfortunately,” said Samuel Joseph, who is project manager of this campaign, “This is now two steps backwards. The continued kidnap is a national disgrace. Reform of the NYSC is a long term project that involves thought, strategy perspective true – but in the meantime, we demand that President Goodluck Jonathan as the Chief Security Officer of the nation be seen as doing everything in its power immediately, to free these young people. At this point, nothing matters more.”
