IDPs camp bomb blast: Only persons with hearts of evil could have done this – Atiku; As death toll rises to 10

Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has expressed deep sadness at the bombing of the Yola Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) Camp in which several lives were lost and many persons maimed.

Suspected Boko Haram terrorists, Friday morning, detonated a bomb at Maikohi Camp, the country’s largest Internally Displaced Camps (IDPs), located in Yola, the Adamawa State capital.

The attack killed seven people and injured 20, the National Emergency Management Agency, NEMA, said. Unconfirmed sources say the death toll could rise to 10.

“Among the injured seven (7) were treated and discharged while thirteen (13) persons including four (4) NEMA officials are still at FMC Yola,” NEMA said in a Twitter post.

Witnesses said the bomb was planted inside a tent near the major warehouse of the camp where 200 displaced persons who had just arrived from Madagali Local Government of Borno State, had been camped.

In a press statement released by his Media Office in Abuja, Friday, September 11, the All Progressives Congress (APC) chieftain said that the bombing could only have been ‘planned and executed by persons with hearts of evil.’

Atiku said it was pathetic for these agents of evil to target the thousands of already traumatised and vulnerable people mainly from Borno and Yobe who were seeking refuge in the Camp.

“Many people I know were working as volunteers in the camp, including staff and students of AUN, who are being nurtured and mentored in the best tradition of service to humanity by giving of their time, energy and at times resources to their fellow human beings,” the Turaki Adamawa said.

“Today’s attack is an attempt to break the spirits of the people who came to seek refuge. The perpetrators will know no peace. We refuse to be broken. We will win the war against terrorism. We shall overcome,” said Atiku.

The Friday attack comes barely two days after Nigerian military said it has “wiped out” all known Boko Haram terror camps and cells in northeast Nigeria.

Nigerian Defense spokesman Col. Rabe Abubakar said, Wednesday, the Islamist insurgents were “so militarily defeated and weakened” that they could never hold territory in that part of the country again.

“As I am speaking to you, all the terrorists’ camps have completely been wiped out. So, right now they are completely in disarray, having no command and control of where to plan. We have even taken over the camps that most of them have even abandoned their bases and blended within towns and communities,” Abubakar said during a press conference Wednesday at the Defence Headquarters in Abuja.

Continuing, the army chief said: “We are making a lot of headways and a lot of achievements and people should know that Boko Haram is no longer strong enough to hold ground. Very soon this issue of whether they are in control of any territory in Nigeria or not will come to the open.”

Nigerian troops arrested a number of Boko Haram leaders and members Tuesday after intercepting a vehicle in northern Yobe state allegedly carrying fuel and illicit drugs for the Islamist militant group.

Abubakar, Wednesday credited the recent military achievements in part to the boost in morale of troops by new chief of army staff, Lt. Gen. Tukur Burutai, who was appointed in July. Since taking office in May, Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari has replaced his army, navy, air force and defense chiefs in an effort to revive the government’s campaign against Boko Haram.

“These terrorists have been subdued. Even if they are adopting other means and as they are re-strategizing, we are also doing same,” said Abubakar, who took over as Nigeria’s defense spokesman for Maj. Gen. Chris Olukolade in August. “The issue of desertion, complaints of non-equipment and lack of morale and motivation are now things of the past.”

Boko Haram’s six-year insurgency has left a devastating impact on Nigeria with more than 2.1 million people displaced in the north, the International Organization for Migration in Geneva said in September. The militants have also killed at least 15,000 people, mostly in the same region.