Survivors of the Zaria, Kaduna State attack, relive their close shaves. One of them says that shortly before the explosion, he saw the suicide bomber struggling to enter the secretariat hall where much more people were gathered. ABDULGAFAR ALABELEWE reports
Some survivors have recounted the last moments before a suicide bomber blew herself up, killing 26 persons and injuring 32 others at Sabon-Gari council headquarters in the university town Zaria, Kaduna State last Tuesday.
The blast occurred at about 9.20am, according to the Chief Medical Director of Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital, Shika, Zaria, Prof Ibrahim Khalid who also supplied the casualty figures.
Majority of those affected were civil servants who left their homes early enough to queue up and wait for the biometric verification exercise going on at the secretariat, while others besieged the secretariat to receive the newly sworn Interim Management Committee chairman, Mohammed Usman Samaru, an engineer, as he resumed duties.
Several eyewitnesses who were lucky to escape the blast unhurt, said they were still confused over the mission of the suicide bomber, whom they described as a young woman.
Adamu Hussein Lere, one of the survivors, claimed to have seen the woman when she was attempting to push her way to the hall of the event. He said he was convinced that the bomber’s target was the hall, but for the large crowd that obstructed her.
Hussain said he heard the bomber clearly telling the crowd in Hausa, “Gafaran ku, Gafaran ku”, meaning give way, give way and when it seemed difficult to move, she detonated the bomb.
“The impact would have been more devastating if he had gained entry into the hall,” he stated.
An eyewitness said that after the evacuation of bodies, most people argued what may have informed the bomber’s mission during the holy month. They suspected that senior members of the civil service who were looting the state’s funds through the use of ghost workers were against the ongoing biometric exercise and might have sponsored the attack.
Some insinuated that the removal of security checkpoints and soldiers from major roads and flashpoints could have been responsible for the return of suicide bombers to the state after warding them off for over a year.
There is no doubt however that, having enjoyed a bomb-free state and relative peace for about a year and half in Kaduna State, the Sabon-gari attack has stirred tension as many feared, it could be a return of suicide bombers to Kaduna.
When our correspondent visited the ABUTH, Shika, some survivors narrated their ordeal. Ahmed Suleiman said he has been screened and verified to collect his cheque for payment. While on queue, the restless lady attempted to push him and others away, but before they could say anything he heard a sound and the next place he found himself was the hospital.
According to him, “I am fasting, I have been praying to God to allow me scale through without problem and I did. I was close to the point where I was to collect my cheque, but found myself in the hospital. God knows why.”
Another survivor, Usman Shehu, a 52-year-old local government worker from Lere, said he was shuttling between Lere and Zaria in a bid to get verified and collect cheque for his June salary.
He said he never imagined that he would later be a victim of bomb attack, particularly during the Ramadan Fasting. However, he thanked God to be counted among the living and not the dead. Similarly, 45 years old Abdul Garba said, “We came for the screening, and I was on queue, suddenly I saw myself on the floor, I fainted and never knew where I was until I woke up in the hospital. I am a primary school teacher in Kauru local government.
ýOthers who spoke were still in confused state of mind due to the shock that overwhelmed them after the blast.
But while the survivors were trying to recount their encounter about the bomb blast, Kaduna Governor Malam Nasir el-Rufai did not hesitate to condemn it, describing it as an “inhuman act of terror.”
El-Rufai said the people must not take any chances, as a measure to contain further attacks, he advised residents to avoid public gatherings and report all suspicious persons to the nearest security agencies as well as community leaders. In addition to that, he ordered for immediate deployment of extra security forces to beef up security against another attack.
While El-Rufai is taking adequate security measure to avoid any possible attack, the Senator representing Kaduna North Central Senatorial District, Comrade Shehu Sani, who also blamed porous security for the attacks in Sabon-gari and other parts of the north said if those saddled with the responsible of ensuring safety of lives and property of Nigerian can’t do it, they should be fired. “It is high time that the new government reviewed the security policy and system of the country,” he stated.
Senator Sani who at Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital, Shika, Zaria, Kaduna to visit the victims told journalists that security agencies must as a matter of necessity take proactive measures to stop the cruel killings in parts of the north.
But didn’t leave the hospital without sending a message to the northern politicians, traditional rulers, religious leaders and other stakeholders to come together and put an end to Boko Haram insurgency.
The position of Governor El-Rufai and Senator Shehu Sani over the Sabon-Gari bomb attack is not different from most residents who want a final solution to nip Boko Haram in the bud.
The jittery residents have expressed hope that the state and federal wake up to the responsibility of securing lives of innocent Nigerians killed almost every day by Boko Haram insurgents.
But one thing that brought sudden relief to residents of Kaduna State and Zaria in particular is the reported arrest of the mastermind of the Jos and Zaria explosions. They hope that the suspect, if found guilty, will face the full wrath of the law.