The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has condemned Monday’s explosion which left scores dead, especially workers at the Abuja Mass Transit Park, Nyanya.
However, the Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Mr Mohammed Abubakar, assured that steps would be taken to beef up security in and around the FCT.
The NLC described the attack as “barbaric and unacceptable”.
This is contained in a statement issued in Abuja and signed by the NLC President, Malam Abdulwahed Omar.
The statement said the incident was a reminder that the battle against terror was far from over and that there were no safe havens.
“While our hearts go to the victims and their families, we as citizens must be vigilant and resolute at all times.
“We must stand together as one family united by grief and threat to our collective wellbeing.
“Every bomb that goes off takes something away from us, yet we will never surrender. We will defeat this enemy with our collective resolve and focus,” it said.
It said that government needed to do more to reassure Nigerians about their safety as it took more than regular effort to confront an enemy as resourceful as the Boko Haram.
According to the statement, in the past three years, a sizable percentage of the national budget had been devoted to security.
“Government must tackle this terror through confrontation and through the depletion of their ranks via provision of education and jobs.
“We also call for the full and immediate implementation of the reports of the two committees set up by the Federal Government on Boko Haram.’’
In another statement issued by CSP Frank Mba, the Force Public Relations Officer quoted the IGP as calling on the residents of the territory and foreigners alike to remain calm but vigilant.
He said that steps were being taken to fish out the perpetrators of the crime.
The IGP said that security agents had been working round the clock to curb such attacks on the FCT and the country at large.
He assured that measured would be put in place to avoid a re-occurrence of the “unfortunate incident’’.
Abubakar commiserated with the families of the victims of the blast and urged the public to go about their normal businesses without fear.
He appealed to them to cooperate with the police by providing useful information to ensure that the perpetrators of the dastardly act were arrested.
Also, the Minister of Police Affairs, Alhaji Jelili Adesiyan, described the explosion as “wicked and evil’’.
Adesiyan said that those behind the action were “enemies of the nation’’ and called on every Nigerian to rise against.
The minister said this in a statement signed by Mr James Odaudu, the Director, Press and Public Relations in the Ministry on Monday.
The minister said that no amount of grievances should justify the wanton destruction of lives and property as witnessed in the country in recent past.
“The sponsors of these acts are dastardly and callous in spilling the blood of the innocent to express whatever anger or grievance they may claim to have.
“No government in Nigeria has given Nigerians the opportunity to express their views and grievances like the Jonathan administration has done,’’ he said.
Adesiyan commiserated with the families of the victims of the explosion and called on Nigerians to be more security conscious.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the police confirmed that 71 persons died in the incident while 124 others sustained various degrees of injuries. (NAN)