Bomb explodes in Maiduguri

BARELY 24 hours after the multiple bomb blasts that rocked Bulunkutu and Abaganaram wards of Maiduguri metropolis in Borno State, another one planted on the middle of Galadima Road by suspected members of the Boko Haram sect exploded in the early hours of yesterday.

Meanwhile, youths in the north, under the umbrella of Arewa Youth Forum (AYF) have expressed concern over what they described as disunity among northerners, saying that the situation was the underlying factor for the present insecurity in the region and Nigeria.

According to a source, the bomb in Maiduguri exploded when people in the area were still asleep.

The source said that after the explosion, members of the Joint Task Force (JTF), who were on patrol, rushed to the scene of the incident and started shooting into the air.

The Borno Commissioner of Police, Mr. Simeon Midenda, confirmed the bomb explosion, and said that there was no casualty, as the blast occurred when people had not woken up from their sleep.

Midenda, however, disclosed that the rampant cases of explosion in recent times were an attempt by the Boko Haram group to strongly establish themselves in the state capital. He, however, said that the security operatives would not give them the chance to do that.

“They are only disturbing and wasting their arsenal, I advise the general public to go about their normal businesses as all their plans and efforts will be in futility,” Midenda said.

The northern youths have urged the Arewa elders to use the forthcoming peace and unity conference proposed by the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) to invite the Islamic militant group, Boko Haram, for dialogue in order to end the reign of terror in the country.

They also pointed out that the problem created by not accepting the Vice President, Alhaji Namadi Sambo, as the leader of the north has further exacerbated the division in the north.

In a statement issued yesterday by the President of AYF, Mallam Gambo Ibrahim Gujungu, explained that the negative situation in the region “borders on the seeming lack of unity in the present day north,” adding that “the situation has not always been like this and the time to act is now before it is too late.

“We have watched over time how the goodwill of the region has been fettered away due mainly to the promotion of self interest to the detriment of communal goals.

It is in view of this that the Arewa youths want the people of the north led by their leaders under the auspices of the ACF and the Northern Governors Forum (NGF) to as a matter of urgency close ranks and make sure that all the problems bedevilling the region are immediately arrested.”

According to the AYF leader, “we believe that the unity of the north is paramount to its development and we warn those using religion and ethnicity for political gains to desist forthwith in the collective interest of the zone and the country at large.”

_____________

By Saxone Akhaine (Kaduna) and Njadvara Musa (Maiduguri)