The unidentified corpses were buried yesterday in the presence of the Pope’s representative. Twenty unidentified bodies of the 2011 Christmas Day bombing by the Boko Haram sect of St. Theresa Catholic Church, Madalla near the Nigerian capital, Abuja, were buried yesterday Wednesday February 1, 2012 in Madalla. It was after a massive service conducted by a representative of the Pope, assisted by Olubunmi Cardinal Okogie and the entire college of Nigerian Catholic Bishops, the local press reported.

The bishops flew in straight from Burkina Faso where they had been attending the African Catholic Bishops conference. Prior to the event, police had beefed up security in the town to ensure a hitch-free occasion, THISDAY said. The victims were killed on December 25, 2011 in bomb attacks claimed by Boko Haram that left at least 43 people dead.

Also yesterday, Nigerians at midday were expected to observe a minute of prayer for the repose of the souls of the bomb victims and for peaceful co-existence in the country. According to THISDAY, the appeal was made by the Chairperson of Anthony Fatayi-Williams Foundation for Peace and Youth Development, Dame Marie Fatayi-Williams. Meanwhile, traditional rulers in Northern Nigeria on Tuesday January 31, 2012 met in an emergency meeting in Kaduna to discuss the Boko Haram insurgency ravaging the region and the recent death sentence passed on Major Hamza Al-Mustapha for the 1996 murder of Mrs. Abiola. Al-Mustapha was the former Chief Security Officer to the late Head of State, Gen. Sani Abacha,

In another development, a United Nations special mission on the August 26, 2011 Boko Haram bombing of the UN Building in Abuja has arrived in the country to investigate the attack. In the continuous onslaught against corruption, an Abuja High Court on Tuesday cleared the former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Dimeji Bankole and his Deputy, Usman Bayero Nafada of a 17-count charge of financial misconduct during their tenure, The Guardian reported.