‘How I lost my hands to explosives’
But even before some of the residents engaged in their early morning routines, an explosion at about 8am resounded. The end result of the blast left 20-year-old Abdussamad Muhammad without both of his hands while two of his friends, Abdurrazak Shu’aibu and Musa Hassan sustained multiple injuries. At the Plateau State Specialist Hospital in Jos, […]
But even before some of the residents engaged in their early morning routines, an explosion at about 8am resounded. The end result of the blast left 20-year-old Abdussamad Muhammad without both of his hands while two of his friends, Abdurrazak Shu’aibu and Musa Hassan sustained multiple injuries. At the Plateau State Specialist Hospital in Jos, Muhammad whose severed limbs were wrapped in bandages, awaiting surgery, managed to speak. He said he was with his two other friends – one working as a driver and the other an employee of a manufacturing company – when he saw the object which he confirmed was of “green military colour” under the bed while searching for his working tools in his room. Muhammad said he noticed a pin on the object, which looked to him like a fire extinguisher, “but when I tried to pick it, it exploded.”
Hassan, who sustained injury on his shaved head and was lying handcuffed to Shu’aibu, told Weekly Trust that “I was supposed to travel yesterday, but they (Muhammad and Shua’aibu) invited me to their house at Dadin Kowa this morning (last Monday). We were eating and discussing when we just heard a loud blast. I was confused. I felt sharp pain on my hand and when I looked around, I noticed that Muhammad’s two hands from the wrist were gone.” Shu’aibu, who seemed to be in a state of confusion, could not comment.
Some of the residents of Jos who trooped to the specialist hospital were of the opinion that the three men were trying to manufacture a bomb for some secret motives, but Hassan said “we were not in possession of any bomb. I told you we just heard a loud bang and we were arrested which I don’t know why, look at how they put handcuffs on our hands. I’m in pain.”
The incident has inevitably brought about various versions. A resident of the area who preferred to remain anonymous, told Weekly Trust that he thought it was a bomb that was detonated. “Because of the current situation in the town, you know small things now in Jos are now linked to the crisis.” A security source said the early morning explosion took place when the victim, who claims to be a generator repairer, picked the object thinking it was a fire extinguisher.
The state’s Police Public Relations Officer, ASP Mohammed Lerama told Weekly Trust that “there was an explosion at Dadin Kowa and a team of bomb experts led by the unit commander were sent to the scene of the incident in company of men from the State Criminal Investigation Department, State CID and the Air Force.’’ Lerama said when they arrived, they found three people in a room and one of them, Abdul Samad, had lost both his hands and the remaining two victims were badly burnt. They were rushed to the hospital for medical treatment because they were in critical condition.
He said “there was a complete detonation from the substance, no particles of the substance was recovered to examine the cause of the incident whether it is accidental. We will determine if the victims had evil intentions when they recover.” The Chief Surgeon of the hospital, Golwa Philemon, said “the suspect was accompanied by soldiers at about 8:30am with blast wounds and auto-amputation of both limbs from the wrist region.” He said the blast caused extensive burns and several types of injuries on the chest and the left side of his chin and jaw bone as a result of the explosion of an object suspected to be a grenade.
The Ward Head of Barikin Akawu, Malam Salisu Abubakar, said he was in his house when he heard the explosion in the morning around 8am. He came out and met a crowd and one person lying on the ground crying for help. He had lost his hands. The people who gathered told him that it was dynamite that exploded. “We invited the soldiers and police who took the victims to the Plateau Hospital. I also led them to the dynamite industry where the boy worked before.” Abubakar said the people in the area live peacefully with one another and appealed to his subjects to remain calm and cooperate with the authorities to get to the root of the matter.