DHQ Confirms Blast In IDPs Camp In Yola

• Why Casualty Is Low, DDI
• Toyota Donates Operational
Pickup Trucks To Nigerian Military

Military authorities at the Defence Headquarters have confirmed the bomb blast near the Malkohi Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) camp yesterday morning in Yola, even as they said the suicide bomber failed to effectively carry out his mission.

The Director of Defence Information (DDI) Col. Rabe Abubakar in a telephone chat with The Guardian confirmed the incidence, saying although the security around the camp was not breached, the incidence did not happen within the camp. “Therefore there is no cause for alarm,” he said..

Col. Abubakar said although information reaching him is sketchy as at press time, the strengthened security around the camps is formidable. This, according to him, prevented the suicide bomber from getting to his target.

The DDI said the bomber detonated the bomb near the warehouse in the camp, quite distant from the camp. “The blast actually happened, but because of the strengthened security in place around the camps, that prevented the suicide bomber from getting into the camp proper. He (bomber) could only get near the warehouse in the camp, far away from the IDP camp. Information is yet to come but there is no cause for alarm regarding the safety of the people in the IDP camps. They are secure,” Abubakar said.

The Information Unit of the Nigerian Army in Yola, the Adamawa state capital said, so far, seven persons lost their lives and 20 persons were injured in the blast. Among the injured, seven were treated and discharged while 13 persons, including four NEMA officials, are still receiving treatment at the Federal Medical Centre, Yola. They said the bomb was planted inside a tent and detonated at around 10: 50 a.m local time.

Meanwhile, the management of Toyota Nigeria Limited (TNL) recently donated some Hilux vans to the Multinational Joint Task Force (MNJTF) in Maiduguri, Borno state, to boost the fight against terrorism. A statement from the DDI yesterday said the Chief of the Defence Staff (CDS,) General Abayomi Gabriel Olonisakin expressed profound gratitude to the management and staff of TNL, describing the company’s gesture as a show of public support and approval of MNJTF actions.

“This donation is a laudable one and very timely too. This shows that the fight against Boko Haram insurgency will come to an effective end going by the presidential directive. The provision of adequate security, not only in the northeast, but in all corners of the country, is a task that must be done and done quickly too”, he said.