Mastermind of Saturday’s attack on a United Nations (UN) helicopter near Damasak, Borno State, will pay dearly for it, President Muhammadu Buhari vowed on Sunday.

The President said the government will avenge the attack in which two persons, including a five-year-old, were killed. The attack was attributed to insurgents.

According to a report by the UN, one of its Humanitarian Air Service helicopter was shot at by the Boko Haram terror group on Saturday.

In a statement by his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Mallam Garba Shehu, the President described the attack as cowardly, vowing that it would be repaid with a heavy consequence.

Condemning the incident, the President said the latest act by the terror group was carried out to camouflage its dwindling strength, assuring both the international community, as well as Nigerians, that security of lives and property remained his administration’s top priority.

In the reaction, President Buhari condemned “the dastardly attack on UN aid helicopter in the Northeast on Saturday by the Boko Haram terrorists.”

The statement reads: “This latest cowardly attack on the UN humanitarian helicopter is yet another desperate rear guard action by the Boko Haram terrorists who have been under intense pressure from the Nigerian military.

“Let me reassure the international community and Nigerians that this latest cowardly attack on a UN helicopter which claimed the lives of two people, including a five year old baby, would not go without severe consequences.

“Boko Haram terrorists are clearly on the back foot and their increasing attacks on innocent civilians, including UN humanitarian workers, was part of their desperation to prove that they are strong in order to cover up their dwindling fortunes.

“The security of foreigners and Nigerians remain the top priority of this administration, and we shall leave no stone unturned until we eliminate these remorseless enemies of humanity.”

The President also underscored the need for all humanitarian and other aid workers in the region to, at all times, properly coordinate movements – air or land, with the Theatre Commander and other military authorities.