The President has released a press statement condemning the
bomb blast that occurred this afternoon at Terminus market
in Jos. Find the statement signed by his spokesperson, Reuben
Abati, below
President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan strongly condemns
the bomb blasts in Jos, Plateau state, today, describing
the perpetrators of this tragic assault on human
freedom as cruel and evil. He has also directed all
relevant agencies to mobilise support and relief efforts
in aid of the victims. The President extends his
heartfelt sympathies to the affected families and
persons.
President Jonathan assures all Nigerians that
government remains fully committed to winning the war
against terror, and this administration will not be cowed
by the atrocities of enemies of human progress and
civilization. Continue...
President Jonathan has also expressed Nigeria’s deepest
appreciation to the international community on the success of
the recent Summit in Paris on the security situation in Nigeria
hosted by the President of France, H.E. Francois Hollande.
He reaffirms Nigeria’s commitment to the implementation of
the resolutions reached by the Summit, in addition to existing
measures already being taken by the administration to
combat terrorism and ensure the safety of lives.
President Jonathan states that the Federal Government of
Nigeria is prepared to strengthen existing mechanisms to
ensure the immediate implementation of the resolutions of
The Summit, among which are:
i. That every necessary measure should be taken to find the
school girls abducted by Boko Haram terrorists from
Government Girls’ Secondary School, Chibok, Borno State
on 14 th April 2014;
ii. That Nigeria and other countries in the sub-region will
continue to co-operate and co-ordinate efforts to
combat the Boko Haram menace.
iii. That the Heads of State have agreed that each country
will contribute one battalion of troops to the international
force set up to patrol the border areas, in line with the
Resolution of the Lake Chad Basin Commission. France,
United States of America and the United Kingdom will
extend technical assistance to achieve this objective;
iv. That the countries will come together to put in place an
effective border management regime;
v. That no effort will be spared to stop the proliferation of
small arms and light weapons and the supply of arms and
equipment made available to terrorists.
President Jonathan considers these measures very useful
aspects of the concerted international effort to combat
terrorism and put an end to the Boko Haram menace. In
addition, the President, in Abuja, today, directed relevant
government agencies to ensure enhanced implementation
of the following programmes in the areas affected by
Boko Haram atrocities:
(i) Emergency relief assistance: The intensification of
on-going relief assistance programmes by the National
Emergency Management Agency (NEMA)) in partnership
with donor agencies. The programme will ensure rapid
deployment of relief assistance to the affected local
government areas and communities. This will include
provision of food supplies, medical supplies, basic relief
commodities, and conditional cash transfer programmes
for affected households;
(ii) Rapid needs assessment: To support additional
intervention programmes in the region, the President has
also directed that on-going rapid needs assessment by
government agencies should be accelerated to identify
affected communities and households and assess the
extent of damage to public and private infrastructure,
amongst others.
(iii) Safety of schools: President Jonathan has also
reiterated Nigeria’s determination to ensure the safety
and security of schools in Borno and other parts of the
country and also provide counselling services to any
affected students to enable them return to school and
continue with their academic work.
Furthermore, the Federal Government of Nigeria will
rebuild the Chibok School and fortify security in schools.
In collaboration with the UN Secretary-General’s Envoy
on Education, former British Prime Minister Gordon Brown
and the private sector, the government will launch the
“Safe Schools Initiative” which will address security issues;
re-build the destroyed schools; and provide equipment
and materials.
Reuben Abati
Special Adviser to the President
(Media and Publicity)
May 20, 2014
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