President Muhammadu Buhari, on Wednesday, made a stopover at the Kuje Correctional Centre, Abuja, for an on-the-spot assessment of the damage wreaked by terrorists who raided the facility on Tuesday night.
The President expressed disappointment over the security breach at the facility, especially the failure of intelligence gathering, which would have nipped the attack in the bud.
Buhari asked: “How can terrorists organise, have weapons, attack a security installation and get away with it?”
Terrorists, believed to be Boko Haram elements, on Tuesday night, stormed the correctional facility killing one security officer and six inmates.
They also freed about 600 inmates, several of whom were said to be detained Boko Haram members.
Buhari was on his way to the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport en route Dakar, Senegal, for the International Development Association (IDA) for Africa Summit.
Meanwhile, the Presidency has justified Buhari’s decision to go ahead with participating in the International Development Association (IDA) for Africa Summit in Dakar, Senegal, despite recent terror attacks in Nigeria.
Public opinions have opposed the President’s decision to attend the IDA for Africa Summit in Dakar, Senegal, with several citing escalating insecurity across the country, a situation they claim he ought to stay back in the country to address.
Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, said Buhari did well by not pandering to threats by terrorists.
Adesina said the President’s attendance of the event is an international obligation, involving other presidents and heads of state, adding that the moment actions of terrorists start to determine what is done or not done, then the country had been brought to its knees.
“Yes, the president should go because there’s an international conference meant for heads of states and presidents, he should attend. You should never give in to terrorists. The moment terrorists begin to stop you from doing things, then we might as well throw up our hands in surrender. The President should go ahead. Yes, it’s an international obligation,” he said.
Buhari is accompanied on the trip by the Ministers of Foreign Affairs, Geoffery Onyeama; Finance, Budget and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed; as well as Industry, Trade and Investment, Adeniyi Adebayo.
“Others on the entourage are: the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele; Director- General, National Intelligence Agency (NIA), Amb. Ahmed Rufa’i Abubakar; Director-General, Debt Management Office, Patience Oniha; and the Managing Director of the Bank of Industry, Olukayode Pitan.