Pres. Jonathan condemns Jos bomb blast, releases press statement

The President has released a press statement condemning the bomb blast
that occurred this afternoon at Terminus market in Jos. Find the
statement signed by his spokesperson, Reuben Abati, below
President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan strongly condemns the bomb blasts in
Jos, Plateau state, today, describing the perpetrators of this tragic
assault on human freedom as cruel and evil. He has also directed all
relevant agencies to mobilise support and relief efforts in aid of the
victims. The President extends his heartfelt sympathies to the
affected families and persons.

President Jonathan assures all Nigerians that government remains fully
committed to winning the war against terror, and this administration
will not be cowed by the atrocities of enemies of human progress and
civilization. Continue...

President Jonathan has also expressed Nigeria's deepest appreciation
to the international community on the success of the recent Summit in
Paris on the security situation in Nigeria hosted by the President of
France, H.E. Francois Hollande.

He reaffirms Nigeria's commitment to the implementation of the
resolutions reached by the Summit, in addition to existing measures
already being taken by the administration to combat terrorism and
ensure the safety of lives.

President Jonathan states that the Federal Government of Nigeria is
prepared to strengthen existing mechanisms to ensure the immediate
implementation of the resolutions of The Summit, among which are:

i.
That every necessary measure should be taken to find the school girls
abducted by Boko Haram terrorists from Government Girls' Secondary
School, Chibok, Borno State on 14thApril 2014;

ii.
That Nigeria and other countries in the sub-region will continue to
co-operate and co-ordinate efforts to combat theBoko Harammenace.

iii.
That the Heads of State have agreed that each country will contribute
one battalion of troops to the international force set up to patrol
the border areas, in line with the Resolution of the Lake Chad Basin
Commission. France, United States of America and the United Kingdom
will extend technical assistance to achieve this objective;

iv.
That the countries will come together to put in place an effective
border management regime;

v.
That no effort will be spared to stop the proliferation of small arms
and light weapons and the supply of arms and equipment made available
to terrorists.
President Jonathan considers these measures very useful aspects of the
concerted international effort to combat terrorism and put an end to
the Boko Haram menace. In addition, the President, in Abuja, today,
directed relevant government agencies to ensure enhanced
implementation of the following programmes in the areas affected
byBoko Haramatrocities:

(i)Emergency relief assistance: The intensification of on-going
relief assistance programmes by the National Emergency Management
Agency (NEMA)) in partnership with donor agencies. The programme will
ensure rapid deployment of relief assistance to the affected local
government areas and communities. This will include provision of food
supplies, medical supplies, basic relief commodities, and conditional
cash transfer programmes for affected households;

(ii)Rapid needs assessment: To support additional intervention
programmes in the region, the President has also directed that
on-going rapid needs assessment by government agencies should be
accelerated to identify affected communities and households and assess
the extent of damage to public and private infrastructure, amongst
others.

(iii)Safety of schools:President Jonathan has also reiterated
Nigeria's determination to ensure the safety and security of schools
in Borno and other parts of the country and also provide counselling
services to any affected students to enable them return to school and
continue with their academic work.

Furthermore, the Federal Government of Nigeria will rebuild the Chibok
School and fortify security in schools. In collaboration with the UN
Secretary-General's Envoy on Education, former British Prime Minister
Gordon Brown and the private sector, the government will launch the
"Safe Schools Initiative" which will address security issues; re-build
the destroyed schools; and provide equipment and materials.

Reuben Abati
Special Adviser to the President
(Media and Publicity)
May 20, 2014