Eight Suicide Bombers Killed by their Bombs in Gubio

•PDP condemns Maiduguri’s multiple blasts

Onyebuchi Ezigbo in Abuja

Troops of Operation Lafiya Dole deployed at a checkpoint in Gubio, Gubio Local Government Area of Borno State yesterday morning, foiled a suicide attack on Gubio town by eight suspected Boko Haram terrorists.

According to a statement from the Nigerian Army spokesman, Colonel Sani Kukasheka Usman, the suicide bombers arrived in a Bedford pick-up vehicle primed with improvised explosive devices (IEDs), including suicide vests.

He said they attempted to force their way through the checkpoint but met stiff resistance from the troops who insisted that the vehicle be thoroughly checked.

“The suicide bombers refused and blew themselves up by detonating one of the suicide vests killing all the eight Boko Haram terrorists on board,” Usman said.

In a related development, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has condemned last Saturday’s multiple bomb attacks on Damboa, a town in Borno State.

The party described the attacks by Boko Haram insurgents which led to the deaths of nine persons, as well as the ambush of the military the following day in Damboa, as unfortunate and barbaric.

A statement by the party’s spokesman, Prince Dayo Adeyeye, commended the dogged spirit of the Nigerian soldiers engaged in the battle against the criminal elements.

“We commend the special operation unit of our military, Operation Lafia Dole, for their courage and commitment to security of lives and property in the North-east, irrespective of the threat to lives of their officers and men in their line of duty. We again commend the military for averting another attack late Sunday.

“While we applaud the dexterity of our officers and men in the field, we wish to further advise the All Progressives Congress (APC)-led federal government to stop the needless and diversionary propaganda on issues of the insurgency in the North-east and rather concentrate more on providing all the moral and technical support needed by the military to end this campaign of terror.

“Finally, we call on all Nigerians to continue supporting government at all levels in the fight against the Boko Haram insurgency. The battle indeed is not only for security agencies but for all citizens to provide information available to them that will aid government in the fight against terrorism,” the party added.