UN slams deadly bomb attack on school in northeastern Nigeria

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki- moon and the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) on Monday condemned a deadly bomb attack on a school in northeastern Nigeria, which left dozens of students dead and many others injured, calling for the perpetrators to be brought to justice.

"The secretary-general is outraged by the frequency and brutality of attacks against educational institutions in the north of the country and reiterates his demand for an immediate cessation to these abominable crimes," said the deputy UN spokesman, Farhan Haq, at a daily briefing here.

A suicide bomber blew himself up in a school in northeastern Nigeria's restive Yobe State on Monday morning, killing dozens of students and injuring many more. A hospital source said 78 students were killed and 45 others were injured in the attack.

Ban called for the attackers to be swiftly brought to justice and urged protection for civilians, said Haq. "The secretary- general reiterates his firm conviction that no objective justifies wanton violence against civilians."

Also on Monday, UNICEF condemned the suicide bombing as "the cruel attack" on the Nigerian school.

"UNICEF condemns the cruel attack today on the Government Science Technical School Potiskum in Yobe State, Nigeria, which killed dozens of children and injured many more," the UN agency said in a statement here. "These repeated and relentless attacks on children and schools are attacks on the future of Nigeria, a country that already has the largest number of children out of school in the world."

UNICEF also urged Nigerian authorities to work to bring the perpetrators of this cruel act to justice, while upholding their responsibilities to protect children.

No group has claimed responsibility for the bomb attack. But residents of the restive state are blaming Boko Haram, an outlawed sect which has been responsible for major killings in the West African country since 2009. In April, Boko Haram abducted more than 270 girls from Chibok, Borno State. More than 200 girls are still held by the extremist group. Enditem