Tag: DEAD

Since the bomb blast in Kaduna State which apparently targeted former Head of State and chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Gen Muhammadu Buhari, there has been a constant stream of comments, perspectives and questions. Some said the attack was just another act of terrorism, a familiar occurrence, especially in the North, and that it was neither politically motivated nor an attempt to muzzle the opposition, of which the retired infantry officer is a key figure.

Still, the question won’t go away. Who wants Gen. Buhari dead and why?

The General was unhurt. His aides were injured, treated and discharged, although many innocent passersby died.

Sheikh Dahiru Bauchi, another prominent figure and uncompromising critic of terrorists, also escaped death in the other Kaduna blast and has since gone to Saudi Arabia for the lesser Hajj.

It was not the first time that Islamic religious leaders were targeted by members of the Boko Haram group during the period of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. Sheikh Ahmed Gumi, in 2012, was rounding off his Tafsir at the Sultan Bello Mosque when the terrorists went for him. Luckily, it was those carrying the explosive meant for him and probably his congregation who rather died when the bomb exploded near his house. He had taken a different route to the mosque.

While Sheikh Bauchi came away unhurt, those who attended his Tafsir lecture at the Murtala Square in Kaduna were not that lucky. The bomb targeting him exploded when the worshippers were returning from the event, killing over 25 of them instantly. Many others were seriously wounded, some maimed for life.

The suicide who went after Buhari in the Kawo area of the metropolis, chose a busy spot to detonate the explosive and may have followed the retired General from his house.

The APC leader reportedly said his his assailants made several attempts to overtake him and maybe gain access his car.

The explosion, which Buhari said was an attempt to assasinate him, was coming barely two days after he issued a statement accusing the government of launching an offensive against the opposition parties in the country.

Following the explosion, some angry youths started hurling stones at security agents  while others wielding sticks started marching towards the Government House, believing that the government was responsible for the attack on General Buhari.

Kaduna State Governor Mukthar Ramalan Yero said in a statement that the two explosions were clear manifestation of the resolve by ‘agents of darkness’ to soak the land with the blood of innocent people for no just cause.

He said “enemies of peace have visited us with their ungodly venom of wanton destruction of human lives. This blast, coming in the Holy month is a clear indication that those behind the act have no iota of fear of God as they have none for the sanctity of human life.”

Gen. Buhari’s immediate reaction to the incident was that the explosion was targeted at him and he had cause to believe so.

He said “I am personally involved in a clearly targeted bomb attack today at about 2:30pm on my way to Daura. The unfortunate event, clearly an assassination attempt, came from a fast-moving vehicle that made many attempts to overtake my security car, but was blocked by the escort vehicle. We reached the market area of Kawo where he took advantage of our slowing down and attempted to ram into my car. He instantly detonated the bomb which destroyed all the three cars in our convoy. Unfortunately, when I came out of my vehicle, I saw bodies littered around. They were innocent people going about their daily business, who became victims of mass murder. Thank God for His mercy, I came out unhurt, but with three of my security staff sustaining minor injuries. They have since been treated in hospital and discharged.”

He said while receiving Governor Yero at his residence a day later that the nation can actually deal with the insecurity posed by activities of the Boko Haram group. The General has been very critical of activities of the insurgents, especially after the Nyanya bombing. In a widely published article, he condemned their activities.

He said: “My heart breaks every time I take to this platform to offer condolences in this tormenting season of seemingly endless violence. I understand that it is difficult for the government to prevent every terrorist attack, but we can always do more to protect our defenceless citizens by boosting our intelligence and counterterrorism capabilities. Our security and stability cannot be conditioned on any ideology or partisan agenda. Every Nigerian reserves the right to his own security, to his own freedom and dignity, and no amount of terrorist blackmail can make us surrender these. May God unite our hearts as we confront this evil.”

During Governor Yero’s visit, Gen. Buhari reportedly recalled the first statement he made on Boko Haram. “I’m  sure that the first statement I made about 18 months ago is on record. I said no religion advocates what is happening. So, basically, it is no case of religion; it is neither ethnic, when they kill children in schools in the Northeast, they kill teachers, they burn churches, they burn mosques, they burn motor parks, they burn markets. Where is religion there? Where is ethnicity there? This is terrorism and I hope the government will come to grips with it. Nigeria is capable of dealing with this; we dealt with the civil war, for 30 months, we fought and we kept Nigeria one and, God willing, we are going to keep Nigeria one. I commiserate with the families of those that died, because this thing was ignited at exactly where my car was almost side-by-side with this thing. I came out, there was blood on my dress. I did not know how it came about because I did not have a scratch myself, but dead bodies all over the place. The security tried to move me to the other side and we just got one of the vehicles passing and they brought me home. I hope the law enforcement agencies and the chief executives of the states will succeed in securing the country”.

Before the twin explosions in the metropolis, two people were killed in cold blood in their homes by unknown gunmen. The first was the General Manager of a Kaduna-based newspaper, the New Democrat, while the other was a lecturer with the state School of Health Technology.

The Nation was informed that this was a clear indication that the Boko Haram members were around in ten states and preparing to attack.

Many believe the explosion was the ruling government’s attempt to silence the opposition. But civil rights crusader and stalwart of the APC in Kaduna State, Mallam Shehu Sani warned against attributing the act to the government or even President Goodluck Jonathan.

He said that “the multiple bombings in Kaduna and Kano which targeted Muhammadu Buhari and Sheikh Dahiru Bauchi stands unreservedly condemned. The assassination attempt once again demonstrated the annihilating danger faced by the Nigerian state. The attack, if successful, could have triggered a serious civil unrest which the architect must have intended to achieve.

“The ongoing insurgency and the overall security situation in the country should be a matter of concern to all. With the attack on these two prominent Nigerians, it’s evidently clear now that we are in a situation where everyone is vulnerable.”

He argued that there is an urgent  need for national unity and solidarity in tackling the menace, adding that “violence will continue as long as there is no exigent national cohesion to combat it; political bickering and blame game between the Government and the opposition and warmongering between the North and the South helps in sustaining the violence. It’s utterly wrong for the ruling party to ascribe the ongoing insurgency to the opposition without any iota of proof to that and it’s utterly false for anyone to concoct conspiracy theory that  links President Jonathan or the Federal Government to attacks that clearly and evidently have the hallmark of the insurgents. We have a crisis at hand and a historic challenge to address it. These are special moments in the history of our nation which appeals to our conscience and concern and needs our convergence. The ill wind of violence is threatening to uproot the standing pillar that upholds our national flag; we must all lend our hands and defy these digusting forces. In the crisis we find ourselves, what will matter most to posterity is not the individual opinion we hold about it but the collective position we took about it. When a nation’s faith is tested by crisis, it must be found strong if that nation is to survive. Each bomb explosion should generate a wave of patriotism to extinguish its motive and detonate its essence.”