Prof, four others killed in UNIMAID terrorist attack, Buhari mourns, ASUU suspends press conference

President Muhammadu Buhari has condemned the Monday morning terrorist attack at a mosque in the University of Maiduguri (UNIMAID).
In a statement by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Mr Femi Adesina, in Abuja, the President expressed sympathy and heartfelt condolences to the university community and families of the victims.
The president also condoled with the government and people of Borno State over the unfortunate incident.
According to him, the appalling attack on a revered place of worship and ivory tower shows that the perpetrators have no true understanding of Islam.
He noted that the “despicable acts of terrorism are cowardly, criminal, unjustifiable and punishable before God almighty and the laws of the land’’.
The President reassured communities in Borno State and others in the North eastern part of the country that his administration would continue to ensure that terrorism never triumph over peace-loving Nigerians.
He reaffirmed the need for Nigerians to remain more vigilant even as the security agencies continue to use all means at their disposal to combat the remnants of insurgents and their sponsors.
Buhari wished those injured in the attack a speedy and full recovery, and comfort for families of the dead.
Professor Aliyu Usman Mani, the Director of Veterinary Medicine of the university, and four other people, were killed when a male suicide bomber detonated a bomb at the Senior Staff Quarters of UNIMAID.
Alhaji Satomi Ahmed, Chairman, Borno State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) and the Commissioner of Police (CP), Damian Chukwu, confirmed the incident.
Chukwu said that 15 persons, who sustained various degrees of injuries were taken to hospital.
Chukwu said: “At about 5:45 a.m. a mobile police officer, who is on duty, sighted a suicide bomber who was trying to scale the fence at Gate Five of the university.
“Suspicious of his movement, the mobile police officer gunned him down and his bomb exploded and killed him instantly.
“The second suicide bomber, a seven year-old, detonated the second explosive at the senior staff quarters mosque in the university where a professor, and four persons were killed and 15 persons sustained various degrees of injuries and were rushed to the hospital,”said Chukwu.
Ahmed said: ” All I can say is to appeal to the people to be vigilant and ensure proper watch because, like we have said, the insurgents are in disarray and employing any tactic to cause havoc. The people must be vigilant”.
Meanwhile, the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), has expressed shock over the early morning bomb blast.
The union immediately suspended a press conference it had planned to hold after the meeting of its National Executive Council in Kano as a result of the incident.
ASUU National President, Prof Abiodun Ogunyemi, announced the suspension of the news conference in Kano on Monday.
He said that following the bomb blast, the executive council of the union had no alternative than to suspend the conference until it gets the details of what happened.
“We don’t have the state of mind to do what we want to do today.
“We are offset with unfortunate development in Maiduguri.
“We learnt that four people including a professor lost their lives while six others sustained injuries,”Ogunyemi said.
ASUU National Executive members had been in Kano for the past four days to discuss issues about Nigerian universities.
The ASUU President was expected to address a conference on the outcome of the meeting of the national executive council when he received the news of the unfortunate incident in Maiduguri.