B’Haram attack on Damaturu frightening, says Mark

President of the Senate, David Mark
| credits: File copy

The Senate President, David Mark, on Tuesday said that he was frightened by the magnitude of the attack carried out by the dreaded Boko Haram sect on Monday and the bravery displayed by them in their desperate bid to capture Damaturu, the Yobe State capital.

Mark stated this while commenting on the motion brought by Senator Ahmed Lawan representing Yobe North in the red chamber on the unfortunate development.

He said that the dimension which the insurgency took was frightening, even as he commended the military for successfully repelling the insurgents from taking over the Government House.

He said, “The insurgents are attacking us left, right, front and back in the North-East. But that of yesterday (Monday) was because they were able to get to the Government House which gave it a new dimension.

“It has nothing to do with the state of emergency. The dimension that it took yesterday (Monday) was really frightening. I was in touch with the governor for most of the time and we were all very worried because of the magnitude of what had happened in the last few days.

“We have bomb blasts in Kano, the attack in Borno, the bomb blast in Borno and the incidence that took place in Damaturu.”

Lawan had while relying on Order 43 of the Senate Standing Order said that the military took up the insurgents that attempted to capture Damaturu, even without the emergency rule in place.

He added that what mattered most was the determination of the military and not the name given before operations.

He said, “I spoke with you (Senate President) this morning (Tuesday) on the need for me on behalf of my colleagues from Yobe State to make a personal explanation on what happened in Damaturu yesterday (on Monday) in Damaturu.

“Mr. President, I will like to formally inform this Senate that Damaturu was attacked by the insurgents from about 5am on Monday and the military or the armed forces, battled the insurgents and controlled the situation.

“So many lives were lost but at this moment, we cannot determine the exact number of the dead and so many were also wounded and of course, psychologically, hundreds of thousands of Yobeans and even Nigerians are traumatised for that incident.

“I want to say this that a war is not won by the name of the operation; a war is won by the operators of the operation that operate in the theatre of war. Our soldiers were determined to fight the insurgents, they fought very gallantly and exhibited valour and they did that because they have motivation not because there was any state of emergency existing.

“The significance of what happened in Damaturu yesterday (Monday) should not be lost on us. I believe that we can win this war if we all come together, get the proper leadership, support the leadership across all the three tiers of government and across all the political parties.

“I believe that this war is winnable and I believe that if we do the right thing, we will get the right result that we saw yesterday.”