The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) has denied a report claiming that 15 worshippers were killed in an outskirt of Chibok Local government Council of Borno State on Sunday.
A statement by Yushau Shuaib,NEMA’s head of public relations said though some of the reports claimed a source from NEMA provided the information, the agency not only contacted the same officer being quoted who denied it in its entirety, it also assigned a special team to investigate and verify the allegation which was later found to be unsubstantiated and untrue.
He said the team has also discovered that two people were actually killed by unidentified gunmen around the area on Sunday and whose bodies had been deposited in a hospital. The victims were a security man and a bystander.
Like other similar attacks, the agency said it could not classify the victims as Muslims or Christians because most of the attacks in that North-East axis are nondiscriminatory between religion, tribe or section of the victims. This could be deduced from the caliber of personalities including retired military generals, traditional rulers, politicians, public officers, businesspeople, security personnel, traders, students among other that were victims of such attacks.
It is necessary to point out that NEMA would never release figures of casualty in whatever form without concrete evidence and certification from relevant authorities including the medical personnel and security agencies,Shuaib said. He added that the tradition of collaboration with stakeholder in information management during outbreaks of disaster in any part of the country is to eradicate erroneous impressions and misinformation as well as guard against unnecessary reprisal attacks from such speculations.
Meanwhile, in another development NEMA has provided relief materials to the victims of recent communal clash between Fulani and Gwari in Gwagwalada area of Abuja over encroachment on farmlands.
Two truckloads of relief materials that include beddings, food items, toiletries, medicaments and tents have been distributed to the victims who are currently squatting in a temporary camp on the Permanent Campus of the University of Abuja.
