Members of the Presidential Committee on
Dialogue and Peaceful Resolution of Security Challenges in the North
led by its Chairman, Tanimu Turaki, on Friday toured institutions and
places of worship bombed by Boko Haram members in Kaduna State.
The committee also visited some members of the terror group in an undisclosed detention in the state capital.
Areas visited included the Jaji Miliatry
Cantoment where two suicide bombers attacked St. Andrews Military
Protestant Church located at the Armed Forces Command and Staff College,
Jaji, killing several worshippers and residents while scores were
seriously injured last year.
Also, the committee visited the St.
Rita’s Catholic Church, Ungwan Yero where a similar attack was carried
out by the insurgents.
At St. Rita, the Chairperson of the
church’s caretaker committee, Mrs. Cecilia Michael, told members of the
committee how the suicide bomber rammed through the wall of the church
before blasting it.
The attack, according to her, claimed four lives and injured several others she estimated to be about 250.
The committee members later offered prayers to the victims who were buried on the church premises.
However, there was a mild drama at the Armed Forces Command and Staff College, Jaji when the committee members were snubbed.
A junior officer who received the
committee told them that the commandant was not ready to receive them
because he was in a crucial meeting with the Permanent Secretary of the
Ministry of Defence.
But when members of the committee threatened to leave, another officer hurriedly called out the commandant.
The committee Chairman, who is also the
Minister of Special Duties and Inter-governmental Affairs, was furious
and said, “This is rubbish. Who is that permanent secretary? Let me see
him. This is unacceptable. For the past five sessions, I have not
attended council meetings because of this committee work. You cannot be
in a meeting with a permanent secretary and say you will not attend to a
presidential committee that is representing the Federal Republic of
Nigeria.”
The Commandant, Air Vice-Marshall Ekpo Osim, told the committee that they were equally working for the security of the country.
He said the initial message was from a junior officer who might not have known the importance of the committee’s visit.
He said, “Take it easy Mr. Chairman. We
are all here to ensure the security of our country and quell crises. The
message that I was attending to a permanent secretary was passed by a
young officer and I don’t need to say much. I sincerely apologise for
the communication gap and the mix-up.”
Click to signup for FREE news updates, latest information and hottest gists everydayAdvertise on NigerianEye.com to reach thousands of our daily users
No comments
Post a Comment
Kindly drop a comment below.
(Comments are moderated. Clean comments will be approved immediately)
Advert Enquires - Reach out to us at NigerianEye@gmail.com