The UN's deputy chief met Nigeria's president Sunday after vowing a renewed fight against terrorism in the wake of a suicide bomb attack at the world body's headquarters here that killed at least 23.
Deputy UN Secretary-General Asha-Rose Migiro laid wreaths at the UN compound in Africa's most populous nation and made her way past crushed debris and what looked to be blood stains during a tour of the badly damaged building.
"It is a shocking incident," she said afterward. "This attack is against global peace. It is also against humanity because those who work here come from different countries."
She later visited victims at the national hospital and held talks with President Goodluck Jonathan.
Migiro said after her 20-minute meeting with Jonathan that "we are currently doing a thorough assessment of what happened and how it happened and how we should strengthen whatever measures we have that are of a security nature". "We will never be deterred," she said.
Friday's attack that saw the bomber make his way through two gates at the heavily guarded compound before slamming his car into the entrance of the building was among the bloodiest targeting the UN globally.
Migiro said earlier that "this act of terrorism will only rekindle our resolve to fight terrorism in all of its ramifications".
Her trip came as the death toll climbed and the investigation into the bombing in Abuja deepened, with FBI agents from the United States and the UN's security chief also in the country. UN spokesman Martin Dawes said the toll was now 23 dead with 81 wounded. Some 400 people with a variety of nationalities worked in the UN building.
Questions swirled over how the bomber managed to pass through two gates in the exit lane of the compound as well as over who was responsible for the blast in the continent's largest oil producer.
A purported spokesman for the Nigerian Islamist sect known as Boko Haram has claimed responsibility for the attack, but there has been no proof and police say they are considering all possibilities. Analysts have cautioned that while at least one faction of the sect may indeed be involved, it was too early to draw any firm conclusions.
Boko Haram has previously focused on targeting symbols of Nigerian authority, but its attacks have grown increasingly sophisticated and concerns have grown over whether it has formed links with al Qaeda's north African branch or other extremist groups.
The United Nations had earlier said nine of its staff were among the dead and "many dozen hospitalised", but warned it was still assessing the toll.
"We have lost motivated, bright, selfless people who were working only for the good of Nigeria and the world," said Agathe Lawson, the UN's acting resident co-ordinator in Nigeria.
"Our priority now is to ensure those who are injured and the families of those who died are cared for." She added that "our second and urgent priority is to ensure the UN operations continue. We will not be deterred in our mission to work to improve the lives of Nigerians. This is why we are here."
A bomb blast that rocked a car park at national police headquarters in Abuja in June and killed at least two people was claimed by Boko Haram. Police first said it was the result of a suicide blast before later retracting their statement, saying they could not be sure.
Most of the attacks blamed on the sect have occurred in the country's northeast, but a number have been carried out elsewhere, including the previous explosion in Abuja as well as several in Suleija near the capital.
The Islamist sect launched an uprising in 2009, put down by a brutal military assault that left hundreds dead. It went dormant for about a year before re-emerging in 2010 with a series of assassinations of security personnel and politicians, as well as religious and community leaders. Nigeria's 150 million population is roughly divided in half between a mainly Muslim north and predominately Christian south.
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