Yola blast: Buhari orders increased security at IDP camps

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President Muhammadu Buhari has ordered more security at all camps harbouring internally displaced persons in the country, after a bomb explosion killed seven people at the Yola IDP camp early Friday.

Twenty people were injured in the attack, the National Emergency Management Agency said.

Mr. Buhari condemned the attack as “heinous and cowardly”.

He said those responsible for the attack – Boko Haram is suspected – are bent on causing fear and panic among the populace by detonating bombs within soft spots where hapless citizens reside but the public not be deterred but rise in unison to root out whatever is left of the terrorists in our midst.

“We must not let the desperate and evil-minded criminals have any respite. There’s now an urgent need for all to be, by paying utmost attention to security issues at all levels – home, work, market, places of worship, schools, etc,” he said.

He called on citizens to alert security agents with vital information to preempt and prevent crimes and to forestall further insurgent activities.

Suspected Boko Haram terrorists on Friday detonated a bomb at Maikohi Camp – Nigeria’s largest Internally Displaced Camps (IDPs) – located in Yola, the capital of Adamawa State.

Witnesses said the bomb was planted inside a tent near the major warehouse of the camp where 200 displaced persons who had just arrived from Madagali Local Government of Borno State, had been camped.

The bomb exploded at about 10:30am, causing panic as some of the refugees fled the camp, our reporter said.

Sources at the hospital however said the death toll had risen to 10.

While condemning the attack, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar said in a statement posted on his Facebook page that “Many people I know were working as volunteers in the camp, including staff and students of AUN, who sustained minor injuries in today’s blast.

“Today’s attack is an attempt to break the spirits of the people who came to seek refuge. The perpetrators will know no peace.

“We refuse to be broken. We will win the war against terrorism. We shall overcome!” he said.