UNDETERRED BY BOMBINGs DURING HIS MAIDUGURI VISIT, BUHARI SAYs NIGERIA IN 'FINAL PHASE' OF TACKLING INSURGENCY

 Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari spoke in a reassuring tone Thursday while addressing troops in Maiduguri, hours after terrorists attacked the vicinity of the airport where the president was expected to land in the Borno capital.

PREMIUM TIMES reported how multiple bomb explosions rocked communities around the Maiduguri airport Thursday morning. The bombs began to land on different locations around the airport at about 10:45 a.m.

President Buhari’s plane landed at the Maiduguri airport at about 11:40 a.m.

At least five civilians died in the explosions. Security sources told PREMIUM TIMES that the attackers used grenades and locally improvised explosives for the attack. No group has claimed responsibility for the attack although Boko Haram and the ISWAP are very active in Borno State.

It is not clear if the attacks were meant to target the president or just to embarrass him by firing at the vicinity about an hour before he arrived at the airport. However, in his speech hours after the attacks, the president sounded unperturbed.

The president was received at the airport by Borno State Governor Babagana Zulum, his deputy, the army chief and other top security and political functionaries in the state.

During his visit to the state, Mr Buhari visited the Airforce Base in Maiduguri where he addressed troops of ‘Operation Hadin Kai’ who are leading the war against the terrorists in the North-east.

Mr Buhari told the troops to “remain steadfast as they go into the final phase of the campaign against insurgency and other forms of criminalities,” his spokesperson, Femi Adesina, said in a statement Thursday evening.

“I urge you also to stay focused to achieve our strategic end-state which is the defeat of all adversaries and restoration of an economically viable North East Geo-political Zone and other parts of the country where Nigerians are free to go about their activities without fear or harassment,” the president was quoted as saying.

The statement did not say if Mr Buhari spoke specifically about Thursday’s bomb explosions.