On Friday 1st October 2010 at about 11 a.m., the Federal Capital City of Abuja came under attack by people who identified themselves as members of Movement for the Emancipation of Niger Delta (MEND). As Nigeria and Nigerians celebrated the nation's 50th Independence Anniversary, two powerful bombs were detonated within minutes of each other, few metres away from Eagle Square, venue of the celebration, killing innocent people in cold blood. Official government figures put the casualties at twelve people dead and seventeen injured. Unofficial accounts place the death toll at eighteen while over sixty people were said to be injured.
The attacks took place while the Heads of State and Government of several African and other countries were seated in Eagle Square to celebrate our 50th Independence Anniversary with us and while the attention of the whole world was upon us. It was clearly meant to embarrass the nation and its people and to give the rest of the world the false impression that Nigeria is on the verge of a violent political conflagration ahead of the general elections of 2011. It was also meant to intimidate the international community that Niger Delta criminal gangs have the capability to influence political outcomes beyond their traditional area of influence.
It is regrettable that these bombs were allowed to go off given that the nation's security organizations had admitted that they were forewarned by foreign intelligence organizations and by the bombers themselves. It is also unfortunate that the bombings followed recent changes in the leadership of the nation's first line of defense - the armed forces, the police force and State Security Service.
We in the Northern Political Leaders Forum condemn in the strongest possible terms this callous and barbaric act of cruelty and cowardice, perpetrated by a group of people steeped in the culture of terrorism and unbridled violence. We condemn all those who give them shelter or comfort under any guise and call on all law-abiding and peace loving Nigerians to raise their collective voice against this violent group, its method and motive. We call on the Federal Government and the nation's law enforcement agencies to pursue these common criminals masquerading as militants with all the resources at their disposal and bring each and every one of them to justice for the crime of murder and for taking arms against the State.
We seize this opportunity to offer our condolences to the families of those who lost their lives in this dastardly act and pray for the repose of the souls of their loved ones. We call on the Federal Government to pay compensation to the families of the victims for its failure to prevent this attack in spite of multiple warnings, including several from the perpetrators themselves. We pray for the quick recovery of the injured and call on the Federal Government to, in addition to settling their medical bills, offer them the services of expert counseling in order to assist them recover psychologically from this harrowing ordeal. May this kind of tragedy never be allowed to happen to this country again.
http://www.saharareporters.com/news-page/pushing-nigeria-brink-northern-political-leaders-ask-jonathan-resign
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