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President Goodluck Jonathan paid
a visit to victims of yesterday’s bomb
blasts at the National hospital in Abuja
today accompanied
by his wife Patience .But it was the
comments by the president that have
been
sending ripples across the nation.
President Jonathan categorically
declared the incident as a
criminal and terrorist act.He
said
that the claims by MEND that the Niger
delta has been neglected are
untenable.He specifically said what
happened in fact, has nothing to do with
the Niger Delta and later proceeded to
declare that the government knows the
sponsors of the attacks and that some of
them will
face
the law.
In the words
of President Jonathan``What
happened yesterday has nothing, and I
repeat has nothing to
do
with the
Niger Delta.People just use the
name of MEND to camouflage criminality
and terrorism . This is just similar to
the commercial kidnapping in the South
and the South East especially, people
kidnap for money.
Jonathan added,``They are not struggling
for anybody, they are not
representing anybody’s interest
.And the release purported to be from
MEND attributing it to the lack of
attention to Niger Delta
is not tenable, because this is
the first time somebody from the Niger
Delta has the opportunity to even be
president of this country for
about four months .So whateve
grievances, you have your own here,you
have hope,good things don’t happen
overnight.
The president further
said
``For
anybody to work with a terrorist
organization and try to use MEND as a
camouflage is totally unacceptable….We
know their sponsors, we are on their
trail and by God’s grace,some of them
will face the law..’’ Jonathan added.But
a civil society activist who watched the
president on television
told
newsdiaryonline
that the president
should
do less talking and allow the security
agencies handle the matter as
the his comments
may
jeopardize
investigations.
The president’s
comments came in the middle of
claims by some commentators on local TV
that there had been warnings to Nigeria
from abroad of a likely alqaeda strike
before the Abuja bombings.One
commentator on Channels TV even said all
contacts with
MEND
commanders at home and abroad including
Henry Okah resulted in their denial of
such attacks.That was why some Niger
Delta citizens were quick to say there
should be a thorough inquiry rather than
rushing
to apportion blame yet.
A report by
The Will ,an online journal blaming
the opposition for the blast equally
elicited some curiousity .Some are
wondering why the rush to apportion
blame instead of
conducting a probe first.An ally
of one opposition politician told
newsdiaryonline Saturday night
that
it
would be unfortunate if government
begins to blame political opponents
now.``Let us hear from the government
officially before we respond’’ the
opposition source said.He however added
that ``even from newspaper accounts
today it is clear that government
received warning from
foreign intelligence sources,so
why did government fail to stop the
attacks
only for them to turn around to
blame others for their failure?’’
Meanwhile the Goodluck/Sambo campaign
organization
while
Reacting to the car bomb explosion of
Friday, October 1st 2010, in Abuja,
which killed 8 persons and wounded
dozens of others, the Goodluck/Sambo
Presidential campaign Organization has
commended the heroism and unbowed spirit
of Nigerians in the face of the
despicable and cowardly act of some
miscreants whose intention was to
disrupt the ‘grand finale’ of the 50th
Anniversary celebrations and cause panic
in the land.
In a statement, the Director of Media
and Publicity Committee of the
organization, Mr. Sully Abu, noted that
the perpetrators of the evil act failed
woefully on all counts; the event went
on gloriously until the end; there was
no panic at all in the immediate
environment of the ceremony and more
importantly, Nigerians have remained
calm, high in spirit and resilience,
despite the anxiety caused by the loss
of lives and property.
The bomb blast brought out the best in
the Nigerian people; the security
services rose gallantly to the occasion
while the people, in the usual
characteristic of the Nigerian habit of
selfless service, gave their helping
hand, in large numbers, to the rescue
efforts.
According to the Organization, the
unfortunate event has clearly
demonstrated that Nigerians would not be
easily intimidated by the terror
perpetrated by a few misguided and
criminal elements. The perpetrators of
this heinous crime have failed and will
continue to fail in their ignoble
mission.
While commending the Nigerian Spirit,
the Organization calls on Nigerians to
remain steady in support of the
Government as it sets about the task of
flushing out these criminals and
bringing them to justice.
“We are very sure that evil will
not triumph. The Nigerian people and the
Nigerian spirit will prevail”, the
statement concluded.
While the blame game continues, a report
by the government owned NTA
put
the figure of the victims of the Abuja
blasts at
101.The
report
said 9 people died on the spot while 3
others died in the hospital.But
unofficial reports
said
the death toll may have reached between
15 and 16 .
Comments
umar Yahuza:What
always makes me surprised with President
Jonathan is,he could not hide his
sentiment against one side of country
especially Northern Nigeria.He is always
jumping to conclusion,just look at what
he stated,he knows who behind that
attack,without
investigation.Advise to
President,pls,Sir,Nigeria is not only
for south south
alone.If such
thing happened allow the security agents
to do their work.This attack could(sic)
anyone
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