President of the United States, Mr. Barack Obama, and the secretary-general of the United Nations, Mr. Ban Ki-moon, yesterday called for an urgent and full probe into Monday’s bombing which claimed the lives of well over 50 students of the Government Comprehensive Senior Secondary in Potiskum, Yobe State.
The attack happened when a suicide bomber dressed as a student, mingled with the students for the morning assembly and detonated bomb that blew him and 47 others away, injuring some 79 students.
In his reaction through one of his spokesperson, Jen Psaki, President Obama said: “We condemn in the strongest terms the horrific attack on Nigerian students by a suicide bomber in the northeastern Nigerian town of Potiskum, as well as other attacks on defenceless civilians this past week in Nigeria.
“We urge the government of Nigeria to investigate these and other attacks to bring the perpetrators to justice,” adding that efforts to reach a ceasefire should not be discarded.
On his own part, in a statement made available to UN correspondents in New York, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon strongly condemned the suicide bombing, saying “no objective justifies wanton violence against civilians,”
He also called for the perpetrators to be “swiftly brought to justice through a process respectful of Nigeria’s human rights obligations and for adequate security measures to be provided for the protection of civilians.
Saying that he was outraged by the frequency and brutality of attacks against educational institutions in the norther parts of Nigeria, the UN chief reiterated his demand for an immediate cessation to the abominable crimes.
The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has also condemned the school bombing, saying that the repeated and relentless attacks on children and schools were attacks on the future of Nigeria, a country that already has the largest number of children out of school in the world.
In a statement obtained by our correspondent, UNICEF said: “We call on those with the responsibility and power to bring the perpetrators of this cruel act to justice, and to uphold their responsibilities to protect children”
It would be recalled that at least 47 students were on Monday killed while 79 injured when a suicide bomber who dressed as student of Government Comprehensive Senior Secondary in Potiskum, Yobe State mingled with the students for the morning assembly and detonated bomb that blew him and others away.
