As early as 7am on Monday, terrorists stormed the popular motor park in the Nyanyan area of Abuja, Nigeria killing over 71 persons and injuring 124 others through an explosion.
While some believed that the explosive must have been planted at the park, some survivors claimed it must have been detonated by a suspected suicide bomber while residents were boarding vehicles to their various places of work.
The incident resulted in bodies littering everywhere, some dismembered, other mangled beyond recognition.
It was a hectic morning for security men, as they made efforts to rescue victims while the dead were taken to the mortuary.
Witnesses said most of the vehicles destroyed at the motor park belonged to the Federal Government.
“Twelve government-owned high-capacity buses operated by the Abuja Mass Transit Company Limited were destroyed”, a source confirmed, saying most of the buses were fully filled with passengers when the attack happened.
On Twitter, presidential spokesman, Dr. Reuben Abati described the attack as a multiple explosion.
“The multiple explosions at Nyanya Bus Park this morning is a terrible tragedy”, he wrote. “No life is worth ending this way”.
Former Governor of Borno state, Ali Modu Sheriff, in his reaction on Twitter, said: “We have to be more committed to dealing with our security challenges. Incidents like these should never be allowed to happen”.
The Nigerian Police said security agencies are ensuring adequate protection of lives and property in the area, and that citizens should go about their businesses normally.
Inspector General of Police, Mohammed Abubakar and the Minister of Interior, Abba Moro visited the scene shortly after the incident. President Goodluck Jonathan also visited the scene later on Monday. He subsequently ordered tight security in the entire Federal Capital territory (FCT).
Former Governor of Lagos State and Leader of the All progressives Congress (APC), Bola Tinubu said he could not adequately express his sense of grief and condolence to the families of the victims of the bomb blast.
“It is another gloomy chapter not only for families, but it reinforces the fear and vulnerability of Nigerians”, he wrote in a statement released by his media office.
“I condemn in the strongest terms the Nyanya bombings and the violent attacks perpetrated by Boko Haram. The killings are detestable, especially those of students and other innocent Nigerians. All peace-loving Nigerians must condemn this mindless slaughter in the strongest of terms. No religion, Islam or Christianity, condones the killings of innocent lives for which there can be no justification”.
He called upon the law-enforcement agencies and the president to spare no effort in bringing the perpetrators to book, saying the Jonathan Presidency must do all in its powers and within the ambit of the law to halt the Boko Haram nightmare.
“Nigeria’s security situation is precarious and the safety of her citizens can no longer be guaranteed. Nigerians want protection for their lives and property. There is a glaring failure of intelligence. The tempo and consistency of attacks suggest that this government’s approach is not only wrong but also wrongheaded”, he said.
“For how long shall we cry over the failure of intelligence and misuse of military deployments? For how long shall we weep over the avoidable deaths, loss of talents and gloom in Nigerian homes? When the story of this generation is told, who shall escape responsibility for the mammoth human lives and resources lost to the slaughter? It is clear the Jonathan administration has not devised a grand strategy against this menace, either locally or internationally”.
Tinubu reiterated the need to return to the drawing board, and for Nigeria to partner the international community in convening a security summit under the auspices of the AU, where Nigeria, Chad, Cameroun and Niger will deliberate on the menace.
“That can be the start of a well-coordinated offensive led by Nigeria”, he said. “We cannot continue on the old ways since the result has been tragedy. We have had enough agonies as families and a nation. Let us have peace, and it is in our hands”.
In his own response, former Vice President, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar expressed anger and sadness at the killing, saying the needless bloodletting cannot continue unabated and that new strategies are required to nip it in the bud.
He described those behind the bombings as evil and callous, with scant regard for the sanctity of human life. He added that the latest bombings by insurgents should be a wake-up call to all Nigerians on the imperative of ending the trade-blame game and working together to end this scourge.
“As a country, we are not doing enough of focusing on and implementing solutions,” the former vice president said.
“We are all guilty of expending endless energy on handwringing and the trading of blame, none of which is able to save lives or change the status quo”.
He recalled that in February, the government spoke about its successes in pushing Boko Haram to the “fringes” of the North East, where a state of emergency currently exists in a number of states, and where the Boko Haram terrorist group has carried out many recent and deadly attacks.
“The bombings, which took place at a motor park in Nyanya a suburb of the Federal Capital Territory, automatically cast doubts on the claims of containing the crisis to the fringes of the country”, he observed.
“There is an urgent need for the government of Nigeria to review its methods and strategies for dealing with terrorism, to step up intelligence, listening posts, picking up trends and conversations with a view to pre-empting terrorist attacks. It is time for Nigeria to accept foreign assistance with fighting terrorism in the country”.
While expressing his condolences to the families of those who lost loved ones in the bombings, Atiku urged well-meaning Nigerians in and around the Federal Capital Territory to heed the call of National Blood Transfusion Centre (NBTC) by voluntarily donating blood at the National Hospital Abuja to save the lives of survivors.
In the same vien,the Honorary Special Adviser to the President and the former Governor of Anambra State, Mr. Peter Obi described the Nyanya bomb blast as mindless war against innocent Nigerians.
In a statement made available to the press, Mr. Obi, wondering what the perpetrators of the act stand to gain, Obi said it was worrisome that innocent Nigerians were confronted by barbarians that did not have respect for the sacredness of human lives. “The strange culture of people killing follow humans without compunction can at best be described as atavistic throwback to the old and superseded ways. To observe those traits of barbarism creeping back to our country calls for concerted efforts to check”, Obi said.
Commending President Goodluck Jonathan for promptly visiting the scene and the injured in hospitals, Obi urged him not to relent or be dampened in his efforts to bring the situation under check. He also commended security agencies for their prompt response and urged them to do everything possible to fish out the perpetrators of the evil act.
Obi called on Nigerians to offer helping hands to the victims as much as they could and preyed to God to strengthen the families of all those affected by the act, especially those that lost their loved ones.
