Abuja: Army barracks bomb blast kills over 20
A military rescue official told Weekly Trust that an explosive device were detonated at a part of the market ‘where people sell roasted fish and beer.’ He said about thirty injured people were removed from the scene and conveyed to the Mogadishu Cantonment Hospital and the General Hospital Asokoro. “Over 20 people were killed. The […]
A military rescue official told Weekly Trust that an explosive device were detonated at a part of the market ‘where people sell roasted fish and beer.’ He said about thirty injured people were removed from the scene and conveyed to the Mogadishu Cantonment Hospital and the General Hospital Asokoro. “Over 20 people were killed. The intensity of the explosive device was high because a large crater-like hole was created in the ground by the blast. There were charred parts of human bodies around,” he said.
Confusion prevailed as another eyewitness said the number of dead was over 30 and some of the dead bodies were mutilated beyond recognition by the intensity of the lone blast. Police could be seen carrying bodies from the scene, as well as polythene-covered corpses in Nigeria Army vehicles.
But Police Force Public Relations Officer DCP Olusola Amore said 4 people were confirmed dead, including 3 females and 1 male. “Thirteen people were injured in the explosion out of which 7 were males and 6 were females,” he said, adding that no arrest has been carried out by the police. “But forensic officers and bomb disposal experts have been deployed to the scene,” he said. Police were searching for unexploded devises to diffuse in the area, a policeman said.
It was a gory sight at the Asokoro Hospital and the National Hospital where victims were taken. Amongst the dead were a pregnant woman, a twenty-four-year-old and many others yet to be accounted for.
A tearful Rachel Igbeta of the Civil Defense, who was unsure if her colleague Peter was still alive as she waited anxiously for her another colleague Rachel to recover, spoke to Weekly Trust. “Four of us had gone to the Mammy Market at the barracks to pick up our uniforms. We had just rearranged our sitting positions and Benson had taken my place as we waited for them to attend to us when we heard the deafening explosion. I was unconscious for some minutes and found myself in a different place from where I was originally. As I regained consciousness of what had happened I noticed some of the fish-sellers going back into their stalls to pick what was left of their wares. This gave me some courage as I too decided to go in and look for my friends. As I got there, I saw Benson lying still on the floor, Rachel bleeding profusely form her leg and Peter, I could not exactly tell.” Igbeta began to cry, saying she was also at Eagle Square when the bomb blast occurred. “I was just asking myself what all this is about and why at a time like this.”
Benson is a twenty-four year-old staff of the Civil Defense who is the first son of parents who traveled for the holiday season. He said: “My sister had come to visit me to spend the New Year with me and I decided to take her out to go and eat grilled fish. We had barely placed our order when we heard the explosion. I lost consciousness for a while and when I stood up I tried to run but discovered I could not, because I had severe injuries on both legs and shrapnel sticking out of my back.”
Screams prevailed and wailing continued over discoveries that loved ones were involved. More people trooped to the hospitals in search of their husbands, children and friends who had said they were heading to the barracks for roasted fish.
Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) Air Marshal Oluseyi Petirin, who arrived at the scene of the explosion a few minutes after the incident, said: “The explosions were carried out by people who do not want peace.” He said people must be vigilant and not allow suspicious objects in bags to be kept where they are. The mood of the CDS visibly changed when he inspected the scene of the blast.
The market was cordoned off by the military and the police minutes after the blasts while only top-ranking officers and select group of rescue officials were allowed in. FCT police spokesman Moshood Jimoh said investigation has commenced into the blast, headed by a Deputy Commissioner of Police.
President Goodluck Jonathan condemned the attack and commanded the nation’s security services to rise to the occasion and arrest what a statement from the Presidency called a “new and dangerous challenge to our peace and stability.” The President, through the statement signed by media aide Ima Niboro, said there shall be no sacred cows. “All, no matter how remotely connected to these incidents, must be brought to justice. They must be made to pay. No one, and we repeat, no one, can make this nation ungovernable.”
SMS messages were being circulated, suggesting the involvement of militant group, Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger-Delta (MEND), but there was no confirmation of that angle as at press time. Also, a popular Abuja church, Dunamis, was rumoured to have been bombed, too. Weekly Trust checks discovered that was not the case.
Mr. Sunday Alabi, full of praise to God for taking him away from the scene, shared his experience. “I actually went to the barracks to buy fish. But when I did not find any parking space I decided to leave and go to see a friend at the Asokoro Hospital. I had barely arrived here when I saw the Road Safety emergency vehicle bring in dead victims of the blast. I definitely would have been dead but for the fact that I did not find parking space.”