Vice President Kashim Shettima, on Monday, paid a condolence visit to the victims and families of those who lost their lives in the suicide bombings in the Gwoza area of Borno State.
This was as 14 of the 42 injured persons were discharged from the State Specialist Hospital in Maiduguri, the state capital.
Shettima described the incident as pathetic, rehashing the words of the late Dele Giwa, saying, “One life lost in cold blood is as gruesome as millions lost in cold blood.”
The Senior Special Assistant to the Vice President on Media and Communications, Mr Stanley Nkwocha, revealed details of the VP’s visit in a statement titled, ‘VP Shettima in Maiduguri, consoles victims of Gwoza suicide bombings.’
Shettima spoke to journalists immediately after meeting and commiserating with victims of the attack at the State Specialist Hospital, Maiduguri, conveying the condolences of President Bola Tinubu to the Borno State government and the people of Gwoza.
The Vice President made a personal donation to all the victims of the attacks and condoled with the families of those killed by the multiple explosions, saying the heart of the President is with them.
“The heart of President Bola Tinubu is with the victims, and he specifically instructed us to come and offer our condolences and commiserations to the victims of this incident.
“We are here with the Director General of NEMA, with the Minister of Agriculture, with the Minister of Transportation and, of course, the Chief Whip of the Senate, a son of the soil from Gwoza, who was here since yesterday (Sunday), and the Acting Governor. They have been working round the clock to provide succour and support to the victims,” Shettima stated.
Shettima pegged the death toll at 32, noting that while 42 persons injured in the suicide bomb attacks were rushed to the Specialist Hospital, 14 have been discharged after receiving treatment, with 26 still receiving treatment.
He said, “It was a very pathetic scene. Our hearts go out to the victims. So far, we have recorded 32 deaths; 42 of those injured were brought in from Gwoza, and about 14 have been discharged, while about 26 are currently receiving attention.
“I want to use this forum to most sincerely register our profound gratitude to the Borno State government, the National Emergency Management Agency, the State Emergency Management Agency and ICRC for rising to the challenges of the times and giving their best in terms of support.”
President Tinubu, in a statement on Sunday by the Presidency, said his administration would redouble its efforts “to ensure that those who trouble the nation, dispatching precious lives, and disrupting law and order are completely removed.”
A security analyst and counter-insurgency expert, Zagazola Makama, told PUNCH Online that the bomber, later identified as a young lady in her early twenties, detonated her explosive device in the middle of the gathering, causing chaos and destruction.
Intelligence sources told Makama that the victims, who were all civilians, were returning from a wedding celebration when the attack occurred near a busy motorpark.
Emergency services rushed to the scene to rescue those injured and transport them to the hospitals in Gwoza.
Saturday’s bomb attack is the first in years since Boko Haram began bombing raids across the country in 2009.
Notable among such raids was the bombing of the United Nations building in 2010 and the busy Nyanya motor park, both in Abuja, in 2014.
Tinubu strongly condemned the bomb attacks, describing them as “desperate acts of terror and a clear manifestation of the pressure mounted against terrorists and the success achieved in degrading their capacity to launch offensives.”
According to a statement signed by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Ajuri Ngelale, Tinubu said the purveyors of wanton violence “shall have a certain encounter with justice.”
He said the “cowardly attacks” were an isolated episode vowing that his government “will not allow the nation to slither into an era of fear, tears, sorrow, and blood.”
In the statement titled, ‘President Tinubu condemns bomb attacks in Borno State, says purveyors of terror will pay a heavy price,’ Tinubu said his administration was taking necessary measures to secure citizens.
He condoled with the victims of the attacks, the families of the deceased, as well as the government and people of Borno State.
While in Maiduguri, the Vice President also attended the funeral prayer for the late mother of former Borno Governor, Senator Ali Modu Sheriff, Hajiya Aisa, at the family residence of Late Galadima Modu Sheriff along Damboa Road.
The mother to the former Governor died in Abuja on Sunday at the age of 93 after a protracted illness.
In the Shettima’s entourage were the Deputy Governor of Borno State, Umar Kadafur; Senate Chief Whip, Senator Ali Ndume; Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Senator Abubakar Kyari; Sa’idu Ahmed Alkali; former Nigerian Ambassador to China, Baba Ahmed Jidda; the Director General of NEMA, Zubaida Umar, and other top government officials.