last week that left many dead and scores injured. YUSUFU AMINU IDEGU, who met
many relatives of survivors
, captures the anguish of the injured many of who are still
in hospitals, struggling to stay alive.
Days after two blasts rocked Jos, Plateau State, tears have not ceased. Distraught
relatives of the dead and crestfallen survivors rue their plight as the rebound of horror
unsettles the Tin City like a stubborn wound that has refused to heal. Scores of
bereaved relations are battling to claim the remains of their loved ones from the
morgues. Others have besieged hospitals, holding vigil with doctors, who are battling
to save the lives of the injured.
There is a pathetic case of a woman in Ward 1 of the Plateau Specialist Hospital, Mrs.
Mary Baba, 46, whose face was damaged in the blast so much that she would require
a corrective surgery to regain her looks. Her hope of surviving the injury hangs in the
balance. Another victim is receiving treatment at the hospital with her three-year old
daughter. The duo sustained severe burns during the bloody incident. Next to her, is
the bloodcurdling case of a student of theAbubakar Tafawa Balewa University, ATBU,
Bauchi. She remained unconscious, three days after the blast. But her sister who was
at her bed side when our reporter visited the hospital gave her name as Zuliya Yunusa.
“She (Suliya) was returning in a Keke NAPEP (tricycle) to our house at Gangeri, when
the bombs went off. The blast threw the tricycle up and smashed it to the ground.
Swathed by headless bodies, she tried to crawl out to get help but soon went into
coma. She later found herself in the hospital when she recovered the next day.”
A civil servant, Akpan Harris, who was at the hospital to retrieve the body of his wife,
Rebecca, said: “I took my wife to the market and dropped her to get some few things.
Ten minutes later, I heard deafening bang and by the time I rushed back to the market,
everywhere was on fire. I knew the worst had happened when she could not be
reached on her cell phone. She was nowhere to be found. I launched a search for her
before her body was discovered here.”
The blasts also cut short the lives of seven final year students of the Faculty of Medical
Sciences, University of Jos (UNIJOS). The late students had left the Jos University
Teaching Hospital (JUTH) for the shoes market without any inkling that danger was
lurking in the corner. They were on their way to the roadside market to buy some
undisclosed items when the blasts occurred. None of the students survived. Six of
them were burnt. The body of one of them was recovered from the inferno that
occurred in the wake of the explosions.
Although another student of the university, Kenneth Datong, was ‘lucky’ to have
cheated death but not without sustaining injuries after an iron rod pierced his legs. His
mother, Hajiya Tafisau Datong, who recalled his son’s narrow escape, said: “He was
returning from school when the first explosion occurred. He did not die, but an iron rod
from nowhere flew out of the scene of the blast and lodged in his leg, inflicting serious
pain. He has been booked for a surgical operation next week so as to remove the
substance because doctors said only through a major surgical operation can the iron
be removed.”
An eyewitness, Mathew Bawa, described the scene of the horrific incident which
claimed over 100 lives last week as “hell.” He said: “There was a replica of the biblical
description of hell on Tuesday at a roadside market on Murtala Muhammed Way, Jos. I
saw human beings roasted alive by fire before the arrival of men of the Fire Service
who put out the fire. It was real hell I saw. It is beyond description my brother.”
The latest explosions came barely three years after the city witnessed a similar
incident in December 2010 when two explosives went off simultaneously at a beer
palour in Anwauan Rukuba and Kabong communities. That incident left more than 100
dead. The second bomb attack happened two years after, precisely on February 20,
2012 at the headquarters of Church of God in Nation (COCIN), to adjacent the Central
Bank of Nigeria branch in Jos. Four members of the church got killed in the attack.
Over 20 persons were injured. The third bomb attack in Jos happened two months
after the one at St. Finbarr’s Catholic Church, Rayfield. By the time an inventory of
victims was taken, no fewer than 25 members of the church were dead. More than 30
congregants were injured. Another bomb attack was also was recorded at God Chosen
Church of God (GCCG) along Rukuba Road, Jos. Two members of the church were
killed in the attack and several others injured. All the attacks were carried out by
suicide bombers who drove explosives-laden vehicles which they rammed into the
churches during service hours. Since the last attack in 2012, not a few churches had
taken security measures to frisk worshippers and safeguard their premises from such
attacks. The security measures may have indeed paid off as no blast had taken place
in Jos until a rebound of bloody explosions last Tuesday.
The Director-General of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), Sidi
Sani, and Inspector-General of Police, Muhammed Abubakar, were in Jos a day after
the tragedy for on-the-spot assessment of the incident. The visitors particularly
visited the victims of the explosions receiving treatment at JUTH.
JUTH Medical Director Dr Edmond Banwat, while briefing the visitors, said: “Most of
the casualties were brought to the hospital from the scene of explosions. 48 people
were brought with various degrees of injuries while 22 corpses were brought. A few
hours ago, some of the victims with third degree burn who were rushed to other
hospitals in the city were also referred to our hospital for major treatment. Two of the
dead victims are children, majority of them are women.”
Some relatives were seen checking the morgue and wards in the hope of finding their
family members who may have fallen victim of the blasts. Some were lucky to quickly
find and identify bodies of their loved ones. Others were searching relatives endlessly
for the bodies of their. Those who were able to identify bodies of victims were asked to
bring their photographs as prof of their relationship to claim the bodies. Some relatives
of the victims who spoke with our reporter complained of the high cost of some of the
drugs prescribed by doctors for the treatment of their siblings. One of the relatives,
Audu Daman, said, “Government is only making propaganda with claims of footing the
medical bill of the victims. At the moment, government officials are nowhere to be
found, yet we are asked to buy drugs every day. We have spent close to N20, 000 and
we are already exhausted. We have been borrowing money for feeding and drugs. This
is the time the victims need the government most so as to recover fast, but we can’t
see any government official here. We keep hearing on radio that government has
accepted to defray the bill but right now many victims may die due to lack of relevant
drugs in the hospital.” Hamza Aliyu echoed Daman’s views, saying: “The nature of
injuries of these victims are high. It is not what any family can bear; it requires
government intervention as prompt as possible.” news source the nation.
Nigeria is becoming something else.
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