The Vice-Chancellor of the University of Maiduguri, Prof. Ibrahim Njodi has pledged the commitment of the institution to go the whole hog with the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, (NNPC) in the search for commercial hydrocarbon deposits in the Chad basin despite the recent insurgent attack.
The don stated this over the weekend in Maiduguri while receiving the high powered delegation from the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu and the NNPC led by Engr. Saidu Mohammed, Chief Operating Officer in charge of gas and power unit of the Corporation.
Njodo told the delegation that though the entire University community was distraught by the cruel incident of July 25th 2017, the University cannot “Chicken out’’ from doing what it is supposed to do when eventually the NNPC re-organizes and return to exploration work in the area.
Tracing the University’s partnership with the Corporation to over 12 years ago when the NNPC teed-off exploration activities in the Chad Basin, the UniMaid VC described the cruel attack on the Frontier Exploration Services/Surface Geochemistry Sampling team comprising the NNPC, Consultants from University of Maiduguri, Consultants attached to the Integrated Data Services Limited, (IDSL) a subsidiary of the NNPC and Civilian escort team, as an act of God.
The NNPC Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs Division, Mr. Ndu Ughamadu, who disclosed this in a statement yesterday said that Njodo noted that the situation painful as it might appear must be seen as a necessary sacrifice for the development of the country.
Njodo, however, called on the NNPC to stand firmly beside the University and the families of the bereaved and provide the much-needed support to overcome the massive setback wrought by the insurgent attack.
Responding, Engr. Mohammed said as a responsible corporate entity the NNPC would do everything within its means to support the University and the families of the victims of the attack.
“We have been great partners with the University of Maiduguri for many years and certainly when losses like this happen and under this circumstance, we cannot abandon our partners to their fate,’’ Engr. Mohammed said.
He promised to return to the University after conferring with the Honourable Minister of State for Petroleum Resources and the Group Managing Director of the NNPC.
Earlier, the high powered delegation paid a similar visit to the Governor of Borno State at Government House Maiduguri where the deputy governor of the state, Alhaji Usman Durkwa, charged the NNPC not to allow the attack to dampen its morale in the quest for new oil finds in the region.
Before leaving Maiduguri, the Delegation paid a visit to the Theatre Command Headquarters of operation Lafia Dole where a formal condolence letter from the HMSPR was handed over to Brig. Gen. Stevenson Olabanji who stood in for the theatre commander.
General Olabanji restated the readiness of the military to perform its statutory role of providing security cover for exploration activities in the Chad Basin and beyond.
Meanwhile, the Group Managing Director of the NNPC, Dr. Maikanti Baru upon return of the Delegation over the weekend, announced some short term palliatives for victims of the attacks.
The prospects of oil exploration in the Lake Chad Basin of Nigeria in Borno state has suffered a major setback as Boko Haram have on Wednesday reportedly ambushed and attack a team of workers between Magumeri and Gubio on their way back to Maiduguri, security sources have revealed.
The source informed that the workers were ambushed around Borno Yeso area of Magumeri, adding that “security personal providing protection and security to the workers including geologists from the University of Maiduguri were also badly affected in the ambushed.
Another source speculated that out of the ten vehicles that conveyed the oil workers including security, only one ten seater bus returned to Maiduguri with five wounded people hospitalized at the State Specialist Hospital Maiduguri.
The source added that many have been feared dead or taken alive as no contact has so far been made by some of the members of the team during the attack
There is no official statement from the military command in Borno State and the State Police Command on the attack.
A credible military source also informed our correspondent that some students of the Geology Department of the University, members of the Civilian Joint Task Force and other security personnel were victims of the attack
The Military source regretted that a conspiracy by head of the securities in trying to shield the information from the public.
His words: “As at 9:00 today Wednesday, no rescue plan has been put in place as far as I am aware from either the Nigeria Airforce component from the Theatre.
“Between Wednesday and today, only ten of the victims can be confirmed to be alive. The five oil workers that escaped the attack Wednesday were hospitalized at the Borno State Specialist Hospital.
“Also this morning around 5:00 precisely five others who escaped also called and told us their location.
“The five victims at the state specialist told us that out of the ten vehicles conveying the team from magumeri, only their vehicle escaped the attack with bullets shots, flat tyres and smashed wind screen.
“They said the insurgents had chased them for more than ten kilometers adding that most of the vehicle and the persons involved did not make it out of Magumeri,” the source disclosed.
The Nation recalls that President Buhari last year issued directives to the NNPC to resume the exploration of oil in the Lake Chad Basin and River Kolnami.
In compliance with the Presidential Directives, the GMD of NNPC sent a delegation to Borno State in May this year who paid courtesies on Gov. Kashim Shettima and the Shehu of Borno, Alhaji Abubakar El-Kanemi with the assurance that the exploration will begin in six weeks’ time as peace was gradually returning to the state.
The latest attack has however cast a dark shadow on the prospect of the continuation of the exploration with renewed Boko Haram attacks and the increasing insecurity in the Lake Chad.
The Police in Borno on Monday said two Boko Haram suicide bombers were killed in a failed attempt to attack displaced persons camps and University of Maiduguri.
A statement signed by DSP Victor Isuku, the Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), said the suicide bombers were killed by security operatives before they hit their targets.
“On Sunday at about 2115hrs, a suspected female Boko Haram terrorist, took advantage of the darkness of night and attempted to gain access into Dalori 2 IDPs camp through the rear perimeter fence.
“Fortunately, she was sighted by vigilant security personnel on duty and chased.
“In an attempt to escape arrest, she hurriedly detonated the IED strapped to her body, killing herself alone.
“The impact of the explosion destroyed a portion of the IDP camp fence.
“In the early hours of today (Monday) at about 0400hrs, a male suicide bomber attempted to gain entry into the premises of University of Maiduguri.
“On sighting the presence of security personnel deployed to the University on duty, he hurriedly detonated his IED, killing himself alone near the BOT building,” Isuku said in the statement.
The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), had earlier confirmed that two suicide bombers attacked Dalori 1 and 2 IDPs camps in Maiduguri.
In a statement issued to newsmen, the agency said four displaced persons were killed and 15 others wounded in the attack.
It said that a male suicide bomber infiltrated into Dalori 1 camp and detonated the explosive strapped to his body and killed four persons.
“Two persons died on the spot while two others died at the hospital,” it said, adding that 15 others sustained injuries in the attack.
The statement added that a female suicide bomber was shot by security men when she attempted to cross the perimeter fence at Dalori 2 camp.
“A female suicide bomber was spotted by security agents while trying to cross the fence.
“They shot her and the explosive device strapped to her body detonated, and blew the woman into pieces,” the statement said.
It said that another female suicide bomber was intercepted and killed by vigilance group at Gate 3, University of Maiduguri.
A member if the Civilian Joint Task Force (CJTF), Abdullahi Muhammad, said the woman detonated the explosive when she was stopped by their men on duty at about 7:45 AM.
He said that the woman killed herself and one member of the vigilance group sustained injuries in the attack.
The injured victims were referred to Special Hospital, Maiduguri for treatment.
Senior Staff Association of Nigeria Universities, (SSANU) has called on the Federal Government to immediately take steps to arrest the current spate of suicide bombing at the University of Maiduguri by putting in place adequate security apparatus to check the incident.
The association want the government to set up a task force inthe University to protect the university community from attacks by insurgents and safeguard the lives of staff and students and create a conducive atmosphere for learning in the institution.
Speaking at the 31st National Executive Council meeting of the union, its National President, Comrade Samson Ugwoke said the union has lost manpower since the university became the target of attacks, stressing that the spate of attacks in the institution was worrisome.
While asking security operatives to up their games in arresting the ugly situation of suicide bombing in the university, he lamented that the economic recession in the country had lasted for too long, even as he urged the Federal Government to give account of the recovered loots from politicians and public office holders and also inject the recovered money into the economy.
Comrade Ugwoke said: “Sambisa has been cleared and I feel it is now accessible. But what concerns us most is the spate of attacks at the University of Maiduguru. It is auspicious concern to us.It seems that the suicide bombers are targeting that university. The University has lost a lot of manpower to terrorists of suicide bombers..
“I got a letter of the university community calling on the Federal Government to set up a special task force to look after the University. As you are aware, teaching,learning, research and community development cannot take place in atmosphere of chaos and fear.
“So,for teaching and learning to take place, calmness and peace and sine qua non. I appeal to the Federal Government to listen to the cry of the University community in Maiduguri by setting up a task force with a designed security gadget or network to track down the people that send these young girls and young boys to bombard the University.
“These suicide bombers come out from somewhere. They were not born with bombs attached to them.The fact that the security agencies have not been able to track the source of the manufacturers of these IED and also from where they recruit these innocent ignorant Children to do these heinous acts is surprising to someone of us.
“We are calling on security agencies to live up to their responsibilities by securing members of the university community of the University of Maiduguri.”
He said further thatSpeaking on the economy, the SSANU President said,“the recession is lasting too long and it is biting hard on SSANU members. Government should give account of the recovered loot and plough the recovered loot into the economy so as to boost it and move the economy forward. The money is losing value. “
Life, death, sacrifices of humanitarian aid workers in Nigeria northeast
Josiah Wangae, a Kenyan, makes his living in Nigeria’s theatre of death. In Maiduguri, Borno State, Wangae prowls the killing fields, where local military fight terrorist sect, Boko Haram, off the streets and desert tracts. Sometimes, the insurgents perform a bloody conquest and Wangae gets trapped in the middle of it.
Just recently, he got caught in a terrorist attack in Konduga. “It was a very close shave. I almost lost my life in the attack. I was in the area for field work when the insurgents (Boko Haram) invaded the town. They shot at everyone. They killed people and kidnapped underage children. It was a very sad incident,” said the staff of a United Nations (UN) multilateral health group.
In the wake of the attack, several local and international aid workers fled the scene of mayhem. But the Kenyan resolutely stayed back. Like he did in conflict zones in Syria and Afghanistan, Wangae dug into the trenches of pain and human need at Konduga.
Somebody has to help. Somebody has to go where nobody else would go. I have a wife and infant sons back in my country. It’s not easy working and staying so far away from them but my wife understands. I hope my children do too as they grow older. It’s not easy but my loved ones take solace in the fact that the work I do and the people I work for, are committed to helping the needy and making the world a better place – Wange.
“Indeed, Wangae dares ‘what nobody else would. He ventures where too many of his peers would abstain. To the middle-aged man and father of two, the possibility of dying or getting abducted does not deter him from assisting displaced persons and several other victims of Boko Haram’s bloody campaign across Nigeria’s northeast.
“But it is not all close shaves and lucky breaks for the aid workers and his colleagues. Wangae remembers with regret, the tragic death of his friends and colleagues in the dismal Rann bombing on January 17. “The loss is inestimable,” he said.
Corroborating him, Husseinah Abdullahi, a paramedic with a sister UN agency stated that the humanitarian community lost irreplaceable staff in the mishap. “I lost very dear friends at Rann. The disaster could have been avoided,” she said.
The Rann tragedy
Death came to Rann in common hours. It arrived in a hail of fire, consuming children and parents while they queued for food and relief materials at the district’s Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camp.
In the incident, a military jet dropped two bombs on the camp for displaced persons in Rann, in Kala-balge Local Government Area where thousands of displaced persons are housed, killing at least 50 persons and leaving about 200 others injured.
At the time of the attack, aid distribution was taking place and many women and children were killed, as well as at least nine humanitarian workers from the Nigerian Red Cross and the International Committee for the Red Cross.
Spokesman of the Nigerian Defence Headquarters, Rabe Abubakar, said the bombing was an error and that it occurred after troops received intelligence of movement by Boko Haram insurgents in the area.
The Nigerian military remembers Rann bombing like the brute in a recurring nightmare. But medical aid staff, Samuel Suleiman, like Wangae, remembers the bombing like the animal trap that decapitated the Huntsman in the fabled wild lands.
Suleiman was one of the many people that got wounded during the military airstrikes on Rann, on January 17. Thousands of displaced people had taken refuge in Rann and the MSF had just begun working there a few days before the attack.
I was few metres away from where the first bombing took place. The bomb exploded very close to the military barracks. Instantly, I knew we were under attack but everybody thought it was Boko Haram. I took off immediately as fast as my feet could carry me. I never knew I was hurt until I got to safe haven. A bomb shrapnel lodged in my arm, causing me to bleed profusely. I was lucky to get medical aid on time – Suleiman.
Meredith Wakanda, 26, is a Food Security Analyst with another UN aid agency in Borno. When she is not accompanying missions to deliver relief materials and other assistance to fringe communities caught up in the anti-terrorism war in Nigeria’s northeast, she lives in the State capital with her parents.
According to Wakama, it’s dangerous crisscrossing war-ravaged communities in Borno. Due to the demands of her job, Wakanda, a native of Borno of the Kanuri tribe, constantly shuttles between the WFP office in the State capital and the several IDP settlements and war-ravaged communities across the northeast.
“You see things that bring tears to your eyes. I have seen a lot of anguish and I have experienced great misery by being witness to it all. But what keeps me going is the fact that by my work, I bring succour into the lives of many,” she said.
Living and working in a war zone
The life of an aid worker is a gallery of scars and perilous exploits. The absence of electricity, potable water, food, provisions, telephones and other relief materials can make the simplest tasks and routines cumbersome.
The average war zone assignment lasts from six to 12 months. This accords the international aid worker ample time to know the country of his assignment as well as neighbouring countries.
The Nation findings revealed that local and international aid workers are often forced to work and live in extreme circumstances. Many of them, field operatives in, particular, live where they work. This, according to a Field Security Officer for the WFP, could be anywhere from camping outdoors in a food drop zone to a refugee registration area or food distribution centre.
‘Our work would be easier if the roads are good’
The hazards of international aid work range from the possibility of sudden death via targeted attacks, abduction to extreme living conditions and travel on bad roads. For instance, Margaret Haruna, a staff of UN food agency’s Rapid Response Mechanism (RRM) unit dreads visiting certain regions of Borno despite her passion for humanitarian work.
“Our work would be easier if the roads are good and there is dependable security stationed across the access routes. When we have to deliver food and other relief materials in extreme circumstances, we do an airdrop from a hovering aircraft because it is usually the safest bet. Sometimes, the aircraft lands in the middle of the conflict zone. From there, we disembark to offer food, nutritional supplements and other relief materials to the needy,” she said.
Every day unfurls with fresh challenges for the aid worker. For instance, while staff of the United Nations Children Education Fund (UNICEF) devote time and efforts to addressing the education needs of minors, field operatives of the World Food Programme (WFP), start by registering people in need of food assistance. The registration process may last for four days or more depending on the number of beneficiaries in need of. Staff of the agency also assist with helicopter food drops of cereal sacks, special food for kids and vegetable oil in regions where it is impossible to make the deliveries by road.
At the backdrop of the efforts, aid workers maintain utmost vigilance, instituting security measures that would aid early warning signals and evacuation process in the event of an attack by dreaded terrorist groups.
Bearing in mind that an attack could be carried out at any time, Field Security Officers of international aid groups adopt proactive measures. Before any mission, they communicate with local authorities, assess the security in the area, and equip themselves with a thorough knowledge of the area so that in a case of emergency evacuation, they can relocate their teams to safety.
The hardest part of the job
Sporadic attacks by Boko Haram continually slow the place of development work in the region as aid workers are often forced to flee humanitarian projects in the region’s hot zones for the safety of the capital cities. But even the capital cities offer minimal refuge to the humanitarian staff. Many are forced to adhere to strict safety rules to avoid targeted attacks by Boko Haram.
For instance, the United Nation’s multilateral agencies provide accommodation to staff in highly guarded hotels and official residencies. Aid workers also have to avoid night crawling and thus retire indoors early in the evening every day.
“Many of us do not venture out after 6.00pm. If there is no urgent relief work to be done anywhere, we retire indoors. It’s the safest bet,” said Adeola Adekunle, a UN Communications Associate from Lagos.
Adekunle revealed that when things seem lonely and bleak, thoughts of his wife and son get him going through the odds. “I console myself by calling my wife. I urge her to put my son on the phone so I can speak to him too. The possibility of seeing them soon keeps me hopeful and happy,” he revealed.
There is no fixed closure in humanitarian work. Aid workers across Nigeria’s northeast revealed that each unit does not rest until its members are safely tucked in bed in their highly cordoned residences. “We are in perpetual active mode morning through the night, weekday through weekends because conflicts or problems arise without respect for routine or timelines,” disclosed Ahmadu Salkada, a Field Security Officer in Yobe State.
When missions are extended beyond specified timelines, the wellbeing of staff become threatened due to food and water shortages, especially in conflict zones where the basic amenities and conveniences are scarce. In such extreme situations, aid workers device ingenious strategies for survival.
The mayhem in retrospect
Borno State, officially acknowledged as the “State of Peace” is undoubtedly the worst hit by the insurgency. Prior to the emergence of the incumbent government, aid workers fled the State. Until their flight, Borno was home to several high profile domestic and international aid agencies and personnel.
It will be recalled that when Médecins Sans Frontières/Doctors Without Borders (MSF) moved into Baga, a town nearly 200 kilometres northeast of Maiduguri, the capital of Borno State, the organization then reported that it was treating 80 patients a day; half of them children.
But after five gunmen hijacked one of their vehicles along with medical supplies and other equipment, MSF abandoned the project.
The surge in terrorist attacks by Boko Haram worsened the humanitarian crisis in the region, which meant that more aid workers were needed to help mitigate the effect of the insurgency.
In 2014 alone, more than 500,000 persons are estimated to have been displaced from their homes due to terrorist attacks. In the first half of last year, civilian deaths are estimated at over 2,000. Since the insurgency started in 2009, more than 5,000 persons are believed to have been killed.
Before the situation deteriorated, the University of Maiduguri (UNIMAID) served as a regional hub for development programmes, conferences and training workshops. Such projects had to be abandoned as Boko Haram increased its conquests and stranglehold on Borno and neighbouring Yobe and Adamawa states.
Things got quite bad that in February 2013, two vaccinators were murdered in Borno by Boko Haram. In the same month, three North Korean doctors and health workers were murdered in Yobe State. Boko Haram went on to establish its stranglehold on 23 of Borno’s 27 local government areas. The situation has since improved as the Nigerian military has reclaimed Borno’s 23 local councils from Boko Haram’s stranglehold.
UNHAS to the rescue
In parts of north-east Nigeria, where the volatile security environment has disrupted overland transport routes, air travel is often the only practical solution for getting humanitarian assistance to people in need. Coupled with the challenges of extreme poverty, underdevelopment and climate change in the Lake Chad Region, years of violent conflict between the government and Boko Haram have thrust the country into one of the most acute humanitarian crises in the world. Today 26 million people are affected and 13.4 million in need of humanitarian assistance according to UN estimates.
The United Nations Humanitarian Air Service (UNHAS), managed by the WFP, is the only provider of air services in this complex emergency. Using fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters, UNHAS enables humanitarian organizations to reach thousands of people in hard-to-access and isolated areas, delivering life-saving food, vaccines, medicines and medical equipment.
The agency enables humanitarian organizations to reach people in remote, cut-off locations with in-kind and cash assistance.
In 2016 alone, UNHAS Nigeria transported 14,700 passengers and 53,000 kilograms of light cargo on behalf of 64 humanitarian organizations, including NGOs such as the International Rescue Committee, the Norwegian Refugee Council and Action Contre la Faim.
Action Contre la Faim Country Director in Nigeria, Yannick Pouchalan revealed how UNHAS has allowed his staff to reach deep field locations from their base in the capital, Abuja. This service makes short field trips possible, allowing aid workers to continually monitor and improve their operations.
Maie Sahoury, the only female UNHAS Aviation Officer in Nigeria also enthused that joining the WFP-UNHAS family was a life-changing experience for her, on both personal and professional levels.
“Sometimes we work for weeks non-stop, facing many challenges, yet the idea that doing your job will save someone’s life is a priceless reward that compensates for everything,” she said.
A deadly paralysis
Red cross officials carry a body at the site of a bomb explosion in Maiduguri, Nigeria, Friday, July 31, 2015 . A woman suicide bomber killed many people at a crowded market early Friday in a blast that thundered across the northeastern Nigerian city of Maiduguri, witnesses said. (AP Photo/Jossy Ola)
At the backdrop of humanitarian efforts in Nigeria’s northeast and other parts of the world, extreme risks and threats are paralysing the operations of humanitarian aid workers, thereby preventing them from helping more people in some of the biggest war zones, according to a recent UN-backed report.
“Conflict parties’ lack of respect for the fundamental tenets of international humanitarian law and the brutality and volatility of today’s armed conflicts make it extremely difficult and dangerous for these brave aid workers to deliver humanitarian assistance and protection in complex emergencies,” said UN Emergency Relief Coordinator Stephen O’Brien, whose Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) co-produced the report.
‘Presence and Proximity: To Stay and Deliver, Five Years On,’ produced by OCHA, the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) and Jindal School of International Affairs in India, is based on interviews with more than 2,000 international and national aid workers, and includes case studies on humanitarian aid in Afghanistan, the Central African Republic (CAR), Syria and Yemen.
Danger pay
There is no gainsaying that humanitarian aid workers are exposed to intractable hardships in the course of their work. To compensate them for their efforts, they are entitled to certain mobility and hardship arrangements. The intent is to offer a comprehensive approach to compensation for service in the field and provide incentives for staff to accept assignments to the difficult and sometimes dangerous locations where staffing and effective programme delivery is often the most challenging.
The Danger Pay (DP) for instance, is a special allowance established for internationally and locally recruited staff who are required to work in locations where very dangerous conditions prevail. The Danger Pay is also given where United Nations staff or premises are at high risk of
becoming collateral damage in a war or active armed conflict. The allowance is normally granted for periods of up to three consecutive months at a time. It is lifted when dangerous conditions are deemed to have abated.
The Borno Command of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps(NSCDC) has deployed 50 armed personnel to check incessant attacks at the University of Maiduguri.
Its Commandant, Alhaji Ibrahim Abdullahi, told newsmen on Monday in Maiduguri that the measure was necessitated by the rising cases of suicide bombing and other attacks at the institution.
He said that the personnel had been deployed to strategic locations like the business centres, motor parks, worship and social centres, among other areas.
The official urged the students and members of the university community to be calm and report any suspicious movement around the vicinity to security agents.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the institution has recorded four incidents of attacks in the last few weeks.
The Borno State police command on Wednesday confirmed the killing of three suspected female suicide bombers in a failed attack near Maiduguri, the state capital.
The command’s spokesman, Victor Isuku, disclosed this in a statement in Maiduguri.
“Today at about 17.55hours, three female suicide bombers conveyed by motorcycle and dropped at a distance to Mamanti village in Molai area, were sighted and intercepted by vigilant security operatives.
“In the process, they hurriedly detonated explosives strapped to their bodies, killing themselves only,” Isuku said.
He said police officers from the Explosive Ordinance Department were promptly drafted to the scene of the incident to restore normalcy.
Police had confirmed the killing of three suspected suicide bombers in a failed attack at the University of Maiduguri (UNIMAID) female hostel on May 19.
One suicide bomber was also killed in similar situation at UNIMAID Secondary School last Saturday.
Another army of suicide bombers on Friday infiltrated the University of Maiduguri campus lunching an attack on the university hostel killing two security men on guard.
More than four explosions were reported to have happened within the school campus but the one that resulted to death happened at the BOT Hostel accommodating females.
According to a student source from the hostel, two suicide bombers came into the hostels from the back gate and hugged one of the security men who tried to prevent them from gaining entrance into the main building of the hostel.
The source also added that the deafening sound from the blast caused panic among students in the hostels who scampered for safety causing stampede that led to the injury of many students.
“We heard the sound at it was so loud that many of us became confused in the hostel. Some students even fainted. Others were running and felling on others. Many have been wounded in what I can call a stampede,” the source said.
Another source from the BOT Hostel said the bomber came in and hugged the security man.
“Two of them came in through the back gate. As the security man was trying to stop them, one of the bombers rushed and hugged one of the security men and blew off with him. The other one didn’t die but he is wounded,” the source said.
The Student Union President of University of Maiduguri, Comrade Abu Hanifa Babati has also confirmed the attack on the institution.
According to him, the second one occurred around BOT Hostel which is a female hostel.
The first one occurred around the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine.
It will be recalled that a twin bomb blast went off in the university on the 13th of this month in which two soldiers and two university security men lost their lives alongside the male suicide bomber.
The spokesman of Borno State police command Victor Isuku said “On 18/5/2017 at about 2350hrs, three male suicide bombers with IEDs strapped to their bodies, gained entry into the premises of university of Maiduguri.
“In an attempt to enter the female hostels, they were intercepted by security operatives.
“One of the bombers hurriedly detonated his IED vest, killing himself instantly.
“The other two bombers detonated their near a construction site also within the proximity of the University premises, killing themselves alone.
Three university security personnel reported injured. Scene visited by EOD personnel and normalcy restored,” DSP Isuku said.
Another group of suicide bombers on Friday infiltrated the University of Maiduguri campus and launched an attack on the university hostel.
Two security men on guard were killed in the attack.
More than four explosions were reported to have gone off within the school campus but the one that resulted to death happened at the BOT Hostel accommodating girls.
According to a student source from the hostel, two suicide bombers came into the hostels from the back gate and hugged one of the security men who tried to prevent them from gaining entrance into the main building of the hostel.
The source also added that the deafening sound from the blast caused panic among students in the hostels who scampered for safety causing stampede that led to the injury of many students.
“We heard the sound at it was so loud that many of us became confused in the hostel. Some students even fainted. Others were running and falling on others. Many have been wounded in what I can call a stampede,” the source said.
Another source from the BOT Hostel said the bomber came in and hugged the security man.
“Two of them came in through the back gate. As the security man was trying to stop them, one of the bombers rushed and hugged one of the security men and blew off with him. The other one didn’t die but he is wounded,” the source said.
The Student Union President of University of Maiduguri, Comrade Abu Hanifa Babati has also confirmed the attack on the institution.
According to him, the second one occurred around BOT Hostel which is a female hostel. The first one occurred around the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine.
A twin bomb blast went off in the university on May 13 in which two soldiers and two university security men lost their lives alongside the male suicide bomber.
Spokesman of Borno State police command Victor Isuku said “On 18/5/2017 at about 2350hrs, three male suicide bombers with IEDs strapped to their bodies, gained entry into the premises of university of Maiduguri.
” In an attempt to enter the female hostels, they were intercepted by security operatives.
“One of the bombers hurriedly detonated his IED vest, killing himself instantly.
“The other two bombers detonated their near a construction site also within the proximity of the University premises, killing themselves alone.
“Three university security personnel reported injured. Scene visited by EOD personnel and normalcy restored,” DSP Isuku said.
Three suicide bombers attempted early Saturday morning to enter University of Maiduguri, but they were thwarted by security men.
Two of the bombers detonated their bombs as they faced interrogation by the security men at the gate, killing one of them and injuring another. The third bomber, who had hidden close to a building near the gate, also detonated her explosive. She was the only casualty.
The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) based in Maiduguri, confirmed the death of four persons, including the bombers, in a statement on Saturday by Mal. Abdulkadir Ibrahim, the North East Information officer of the agency.
“Today at 1:10am, three suicide bombers, two men and a woman attempted to gain access into University of Maiduguri, but were sighted by the university security that stopped them for interrogation.
“While interrogating them, the two suicide bombers detonated their explosives devices which injured one of the securities and killed another.
“The third suicide bomber hid close to the vicinity of a building in the university later detonated her explosive which affected the structure of the building with no casualty.
“The injured has been taken to University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital after administering of first aid while the corpses were deposited at Borno specialist hospital,’’ Ibrahim said.
Death came to Rann in common hours. It arrived in a hail of fire, consuming children and parents while they queued for food and relief materials at the district’s Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camp.
Meredith Wakanda, 26, is a Food Security Analyst with another UN aid agency in Borno. When she is not accompanying missions to deliver relief materials and other assistance to fringe communities caught up in the anti-terrorism war in Nigeria’s northeast, she lives in the State capital with her parents.
Sporadic attacks by Boko Haram continually slow the place of development work in the region as aid workers are often forced to flee humanitarian projects in the region’s hot zones for the safety of the capital cities. But even the capital cities offer minimal refuge to the humanitarian staff. Many are forced to adhere to strict safety rules to avoid targeted attacks by Boko Haram.
Borno State, officially acknowledged as the “State of Peace” is undoubtedly the worst hit by the insurgency. Prior to the emergence of the incumbent government, aid workers fled the State. Until their flight, Borno was home to several high profile domestic and international aid agencies and personnel.
In parts of north-east Nigeria, where the volatile security environment has disrupted overland transport routes, air travel is often the only practical solution for getting humanitarian assistance to people in need. Coupled with the challenges of extreme poverty, underdevelopment and climate change in the Lake Chad Region, years of violent conflict between the government and Boko Haram have thrust the country into one of the most acute humanitarian crises in the world. Today 26 million people are affected and 13.4 million in need of humanitarian assistance according to UN estimates.
There is no gainsaying that humanitarian aid workers are exposed to intractable hardships in the course of their work. To compensate them for their efforts, they are entitled to certain mobility and hardship arrangements. The intent is to offer a comprehensive approach to compensation for service in the field and provide incentives for staff to accept assignments to the difficult and sometimes dangerous locations where staffing and effective programme delivery is often the most challenging.
