Insurgency: Victims take case to rights commission

In a petition sent to the NHRC, they said: “We have been neglected and abandoned by the federal government. It has failed to keep to its promise of taking care of our medical bills. This promise was made by President Goodluck Jonathan at every visit he made to the scenes of the blasts and in […]

In a petition sent to the NHRC, they said: “We have been neglected and abandoned by the federal government. It has failed to keep to its promise of taking care of our medical bills. This promise was made by President Goodluck Jonathan at every visit he made to the scenes of the blasts and in hospitals.”
They said that many of them lost their lives as a result of lack of government’s concern and negligence.
In the petition, signed by Mr. Kayode Olatunji on behalf of other victims, they said: “Many who initially survived the bombing died months later as they could no longer cope with the exorbitant medical bills.
“Many underwent surgical operations in other hospitals after the initial hospitals they were admitted withdrew from handling their cases. ”We are citizens of Nigeria who are entitled to the safety of our lives; we deserve to be given proper attention. “We therefore write to solicit for help from the Human Rights Commission to cause the federal government to fulfill its pledges for our treatment.”
Responding, chairman of the Governing Council of the Commission, Dr Chidi Odinkalu assured the victims that the federal government remained committed to the welfare of the victims.
He explained that government’s commitment informed the creation of the Victim Support Fund, saying the NHRC is in the board of the Fund.
He advised them to reach out to other victims so that they could present a united front. Odinkalu advised the victims to compile all necessary records, including medical reports and evidence of bills paid so as to enable the commission make necessary recommendations. He said the commission was ready to work with the victims to table their grievances before appropriate authorities.
Odinkalu noted that there was no protocol to manage victims of bomb blasts, adding that the action of the federal government was inexcusable. He said there was the need to create a department that would be responsible for managing victims of bomb blasts.
The victims further revealed that most of them had mortgaged their inheritance and sold their properties to settle their medical expenses, adding, “Some have dropped out of school while some are still in the sick bed.”