NIGERIA: Lax Security Reason for U.N. Bombing

•  lagos
• Monday, September 05, 2011
• Inter Press Service

Ifeanyi Okechukwu, from the West African Network for Peace Building, which works with international organisations to prevent armed conflict, said the bombing was an attack just waiting to happen.

'We have a total gap in our security system and some people have capitalised on this to continuously cause mayhem. We are not surprised by this bombing,' Okechukwu said. He added that unless the country found proactive ways to address its security problem, the violence would continue.

The bombing of the U.N. building in Nigeria's capital, Abuja, claimed 23 lives and wounded 81 people on Aug. 26. The Islamic militant group, Boko Haram, claimed responsibility for the attack. The extremist group said the bombing was in retaliation for the support the United States and the U.N. have given the Nigerian government in persecuting Muslims in the country.

Nigeria, with a population of 150 million people, is split between the Christian south and Muslim north. President Goodluck Jonathan is also Christian. A spokesman for the group, Abu Kakah, told journalists in a telephonic interview that the attacks would continue. Boko Haram, which is opposed to western education and a western way of life, wants an Islamic state in Nigeria.

In recent months the group has launched a series of bomb attacks on police stations, military barracks, churches and other public places. The group even bombed Nigeria's police headquarters in Abuja in June.

Police say the bombs used in the attacks were assembled from commercial explosives used for quarrying, mining seismic exploration and road construction. 'Based on the way they are being proliferated, our security operatives have to be observant,' Okechukwu said.

He added that the country needed regulations that made it mandatory for anyone purchasing explosives, or shops selling them, to report the sale and purchase of these items to police. However, Minister of Mines and Steel Development Musa Sada said that the products are regulated as dealers and importers of explosives are required to renew their licences every three years.

But Okechukwu said this needed to be enforced. 'The way you enforce the regulation to meet the security challenge is very important,' he added. Deputy Secretary-General of the U.N. Asha-Rose Migiro told journalists that they were investigating how to strengthen their security.

'We are currently doing a thorough assessment of what happened, how it happened, and how we should strengthen whatever measure we have as a security option,' Migiro said after visiting the scene on Sunday.

© Inter Press Service (2011) — All Rights ReservedOriginal source: Inter Press Service

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