*Death Toll Rises To 18 From Multiple Bombings

PRESIDENT Bola Tinubu has condemned the bomb attacks that resulted in loss of lives and maiming of citizens in Gwoza Local Council of Borno State, saying the cowardly attacks were only, but an isolated episode, vowing that his government would not allow the country to slither into an era of fear, tears, sorrow and blood.

Tinubu, in a statement by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Mr. Ajuri Ngelale, in Abuja, on Sunday, June 30, declared that the purveyors of wanton violence would have a certain encounter with justice.

     The President, while describing the attacks 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, assured that his administration was taking necessary measures to secure citizens.

Tinubu, while condoling victims of the attacks, families of the deceased and the government and people of Borno State, emphasised that efforts would be redoubled to ensure that those who troubled the country, dispatching precious lives and disrupting law and order, were completely removed.

Recall that at least 18 persons were killed and dozens injured when suspected female suicide bombers targeted a wedding, a funeral and a hospital in Gwoza, Borno State, on Saturday, June 29.

Seven dead were initially reported dead and scores missing immediately after the multiple attacks.

In one of the attacks about 3:45pm, a woman carrying a baby on her back detonated an improvised explosive device (IED) she had on her at a crowded motor park.”

The suicide bombers also targeted a hospital in the same town, and later carried out another attack at the funeral for victims of the wedding blast.

“So far, 18 deaths, comprising children, men, females and pregnant women have been reported, the Director General of Borno State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA), Mr. Barkindo Saidu, has said.

At press time, 19 were said to have been “seriously injured” and taken to the  in Maiduguri, the state capital, while 23 others were awaiting evacuation.

A member of the civilian task force assisting the military in Gwoza said two of their colleagues and a soldier were also killed in a separate attack on a security post, but that was yet to be confirmed by the military.

     The state Police Command initially put the number of dead as six, 

    According to Saidu: “Nineteen people seriously injured were conveyed to Maiduguri in four ambulances, while 23 others are waiting for military escort in the Medical Regimental Services (MRS) Clinic.

“I am now coordinating for a chopper tonight. I have mobilised emergency drugs to complement the shortage of drugs in Gwoza. The degree of injuries range from abdominal raptures, skull and limb fractures.

“I have also received a report that there is a suspected suicide bomber in Pulka.”

The attacks came as a shock to the residents and are sore reminders of the past, when suicide bombing occurred on regular basis in the insurgency-prone Northeast, where Boko Haram and Islamic State West African Province (ISWAP) are very active.

This happened at a time the Nigerian military had “degraded” the insurgents, with many of them killed in battles, while some surrendered to the authorities and were re-integrated into society.