Nigerian soldiers reportedly escaped being mobbed on Monday by Irate residents of Potiskum, Yobe State, immediately after the bomb blast occurred in the town.
ThisDay reports that the soldiers were forced to flee the site of the Potiskum school suicide bomb blast following the reaction from irate residents, who were prepared to engage them in a battle.
It was gathered that the residents, who were armed with sticks, were protesting the second suicide bombing in one week in Potiskum, coupled with the indiscriminate shooting and unruly behavior of the soldiers.
The soldiers reportedly arrived at the school premises to rescue the injured students as well as carry the corpses of the dead to the hospital when they were welcome with protest songs from the irate crowd.
“We are better off without you”, “We do not want you again in our town,” “You are useless to us.”
It was gathered that when the military operatives saw the magnitude of the protest, they put their vehicles in reverse gear and sped off from the scene in order to avert a mob attack.
Meanwhile, when Yobe State Commissioner of Police, Markus Danladi, was contacted over the attempted attack, he said he had no details but hinted that he was on his way to the scene of the incident to ascertain the development.
However, Danladi who arrived at Government Comprehensive School, Potiskum, in the company of the state Commissioner for Education, was not granted access by the angry mobs, which have already barricaded the area attacked by the bomber.
The CP, who was also forced to retreat, revealed to journalists that all security personnel were forced to stay away from the scene of the blast for the sake of peace. He then went ahead to visit the palace of the two emirs in Potiskum to commiserate with them over their loss, and solicited their cooperation in maintaining law and order in the area.
Danladi called on the emirs to educate their subjects on the importance of security personnel at this critical time, reiterating that the people’s support in fighting terrorism cannot be overemphasised.
Responding, Chairman, Yobe State Council of Chiefs, Alhaji Mohammadu Abali Ibn Idrisa, who is the Emir of Fika, and his Potiskum counterpart, Alhaji Umaru Bubaram Ibn Wuriwa Bauya, assured Danladi that they have already sent some elders in their respective domains to educate the mob on the need to allow peace reign as well as to allow the security operatives do their lawful work.
It is believed that the protest against the police and military personnel in Potiskum is connected to the extra-judicial killing of 16 men who were recently picked up by Nigerian troops. Potiskum, which is the largest commercial town in Yobe State, was calm after the protest at the school.
Meanwhile, the state governor, Ibrahim Gaidam, on Monday reacted to the bomb explosion at the All Boys Government Technical Secondary School, Potiskum in Yobe State which left no fewer than 47 people dead and several others injured.
Also reacting to the evil act, former Vice President and APC Presidential Aspirant, Atiku Abubakar condemned the senseless murder of the innocent students.
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