A memorial service was held Thursday in front of the heavily damaged UN headquarters in the Nigerian capital where 23 people were killed last month in a suicide attack claimed by a local Islamist group.
Over 1,000 people attended the service, including Nigerian government and military officials, UN personnel, diplomats, families of the deceased and religious leaders.
Troops wearing UN peacekeeping blue berets honoured the dead with a multiple gun salute while dignitaries laid wreaths.
The August 26 attack, one of the bloodiest targeting the UN, saw a suicide bomber make his way past two gates before slamming his car into the entrance of the building.
“This terrorist attack showed utter disregard for human life,” UN chief Ban Ki-moon said in a message read by his top representative in Nigeria, Daouda Toure.
“It was an assault not just on our premises, but on our values and our work. There can be no justification for such wanton killing and destruction.”
The UN said it is “re-assessing security both in Nigeria and elsewhere, given the implications of what was the first attack of its kind in this country.”
President Goodluck Jonathan in a speech read on his behalf by Foreign Minister Olugbenga Ashiru said his “government will also ensure that all those responsible for this terrorist act are brought to justice.”
Nigeria’s secret police has said that an Al-Qaeda-linked suspect who recently returned from Somalia masterminded the attack. He has been declared wanted.
The Nigerian Islamist group known as Boko Haram has claimed responsibility for the attack.
Omabegho Anire Edward-Dede, a 12 year old boy who lost his father, a doctor who worked with the World Health Organisation, gave a terse but moving speech.
“That fateful morning when I woke on the 26th of August, I didn’t know we will hear the news about the sudden death of my father.”
“However, I took courage and strength when I remembered the good life my father lived. I give thanks to God for everything.”
Of those killed, 11 were UN workers.
A total of 116 people were injured in an explosion at the building where 400 staffers work.
Nigerian Muslim and Christian leaders said prayers.
Sep162011