Former President Olusegun Obasanjo and Senate President, David Mark, joined worshippers at St. Theresa's Catholic Church, Madalla, Niger State, venue of the Christmas Day bomb blast, to mark the New Year. Obasanjo and Mark also inspected the wreckage of the church premises damaged by the blast. Obasanjo later led the prayer session for the victims of the blast, urging the bereaved to remain steadfast in prayer for the nation and her citizens.
Addressing worshippers during the service, Mark noted that the current security challenge confronting the nation called for an aggressive war on terrorism, saying that Nigerians could not be intimidated or impeded from going about their legitimate businesses. He advised Christians to forgive according to the holy books, stressing that government would soon fish out the perpetrators of the heinous crime. According to him, "Government will never allow evil to thrive over good.
"They must be fished out and punished according to the laws of the land. Nigerians must be allowed to carry out their legitimate businesses without fear of intimidation or harassment. There must be justice and the law must take its full course. The National Assembly will cooperate and play its part to unearth the perpetrators and masterminds of this crime against humanity. We earnestly share in your pains in this difficult time.
"The solidarity and condemnation of the act unarguably has made St. Theresa's Catholic Church a symbol of unity. We shall do our part to ensure that the victims of the blast did not die in vain."
Mark also warned against acts of vengeance, stressing that the central theme of Christian faith is forgiveness. The bomb blast, he added, was a test of Christian faith, saying that God never makes a mistake.
Earlier, the Parish priest of the church, Rev. Fr. Isaac Achi, said that 42 out of the 123 victims of the blast had been confirmed dead. He added that the parish now bore the huge burden of managing the orphans, widows and widowers. He said that the church was now hosting the high and the mighty in the society following the incident.
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