The United Nations office in Nigeria has officially released the names of those who died in the August 26 suicide bombing of its office. It confirmed that 23 persons died and 116 were injured.
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This was disclosed by the resident coordinator of UN Systems in Nigeria, Daouda Toure, at a press briefing in Abuja on Wednesday.
Toure disclosed that 11 of the dead were UN personnel while 10 were non-UN personnel but associated with organisations working for the UN, and the remaining two people were yet to be identified.
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He said that a total of 116 people were injured, including 64 UN personnel, 36 non-UN personnel and 16 persons yet to be identified.
“These men and women lost their lives while contributing to improve the living conditions of ordinary Nigerians across the country. We will never forget them as individuals. Nor shall we forget the passion, commitment and courage with which they proudly served the mission and ideals of the United Nations,” Toure added.
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Of the seriously injured persons, 17 had been flown to South Africa for further specialist treatment; 12 were UN personnel while five were non-UN personnel.
On the choice South Africa for specialist treatment, Toure said this was not an indictment of Nigerian hospitals, given that they had done very well since those admitted there got better, but the need to prevent any long-term handicap especially with the victims’ sight.
South Africa is the UN regional medical evacuation centre for the sub-region and has highly advanced medical facilities. Some of the victims needed organ transplant including liver and retina, which are not readily available in Nigerian hospitals.
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He said ongoing repair works at the UN House had led to UN agencies operating from many parts of Abuja including Transcorp Hilton Hotel.
With respect to compensation for the victims, Toure said that the UN personnel were covered by the UN special compensation scheme while the non-UN personnel will be taken care of by the organisations and that the federal government was promising to assist.
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Dispelling reports of UN withdrawal from Nigeria for security reasons, he said that the UN has a long-term commitment to remain in Nigeria and will continue to work towards improving lives in the country.
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On investigations into the matter, Toure said that the nation’s security agencies were cooperating with the UN and it’s being briefed regularly.
Also, the UN chief security adviser, Sorrien Scott, confirmed that the federal government is in charge of the investigations while the UN is compiling internal report on what happened, which Toure will submit to UN secretary-general Ban Ki-Moon.
“Of course, we will depend on Nigeria’s security agencies in preparing our internal report. But we are not conducting any separate investigation,” Mr. Scott said.
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