— Oct 4, 2015 7:56 am
An unidentified toddler who was seriously injured in Friday night’s bomb explosions at Nyanya, a suburb of Abuja that was bombed alongside a market in Kuje area council is receiving treatment at the National Hospital in Abuja.
15 people have been confirmed dead in the multiple suicide attack.
Also, a witness at the Nyanya blast site told LEADERSHIP Sunday that a soldier was killed at the scene when the suicide bomber targeted a group of them standing together.
The head of communications at the National Hospital, Dr Tayo Haastrup, while speaking about the toddler, said the baby was brought to the hospital by rescue operators but the whereabouts of the parents were still unknown.
He said, “we can’t find the parents for now, but the more important thing now is let’s just take care of the baby.”
Officials are also unable at present to ascertain if the baby’s parents are among the dead or injured at the hospital.
“We just pray they are not among the dead,” he said.
National Hospital is one of several hospitals where the injured and dead were taken late Friday after the blasts hit Nyanya, which has been targeted by two separate bomb attacks in the past.
Nine people were “brought in dead” and deposited in the hospital’s mortuary. Another 13 were admitted with multiple injuries at NHA’s Trauma Centre.
They are reported to be stable after trauma treatment.
“We have done the best for now, and we are waiting,” said Dr Haastrup
Meanwhile, the eye-witness who spoke with LEADERSHIP Sunday yesterday on the condition of anonymity, said a large number of soldiers were seen at the spot of the blast shortly before the bomb went off.
According to the eye-witness, the bomb went off while the soldiers were all standing there as if on specific assignment when the bomb went off, leaving an undisclosed number of people dead, including civilians and security men.
“I was in a car driving past the area shortly before the blast when I saw the soldiers numbering over 20 standing at the spot. I was just thinking what they could be up to there when suddenly, the bomb exploded.
“I alighted from my vehicle and retraced my steps to the place realising that the soldiers could have been affected. I sighted some soldiers on the ground lying lifeless while others were writhing in pains. Some of them who were not affected by the blast were helping their colleagues when a military vehicle came and carried the wounded and the dead away.
“One of the soldiers I spoke with told me how he just saw his sister who came to see him off when the blast happened, killing his sister instantly. The soldier said he managed to escape the blast because he quickly fell flat on the floor avoiding the shrapnel from the bomb,”the witness said.
Although he was struggling to hold himself from crying, the soldier confirmed that many people were killed and many others injured.
When LEADERSHIP Sunday visited the scene of the incident in Nyanya close to a major mosque, yesterday the place had been cordoned off by security operatives including the police soldiers and men of the Civil Defence.
Debris of body parts and clothing of the victims and the suicide bombers were still littered in the environment. Some damaged vehicles were also seen in the area.
Soldiers had already mounted road blocks in the area, causing a major traffic hold up which some residents lamented could also pose grave danger for motorists and other road users in the event of a blast on the hold up.
Attempts to get the military authorities to confirm the story failed as the military spokesman did not respond to calls as at time of going to press.
Meanwhile the inspector general of police, IGP Solomon Arase has ordered an immediate stop and search at the scenes of the attacks and urged Nigerians not to panic over the incidents.
In a statement by the Force spokesman, ACP Olabisi Kolawole, yesterday, said the police chief also ordered an immediate deployment of Police Explosives Ordinance Disposal Units to the scenes to prevent further destructions.
The spokesman said preliminary investigations revealed the bomb blasts were carried out by two suicide bombers – a male and a female, affirming that the IGP urged Nigerians to be vigilant at all times and report any suspicious persons or objects.
NEMA Confirms 15 Dead
The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) says 15 persons have been confirmed dead while 41 were injured in both the Kuje and Nyanya blast.
According to the Information Officer of NEMA, Sani Datti, the agency has intensified rescue operations in all the sites of the bomb blast.
He said “Following a coordinated rescue operation at scene of multiple explosions in both Nyaya and Kuje, which are satellite towns of Federal Capital Territory Abuja, so far fifteen (15) persons lost their lives and forty one (41) injured were evacuated to Nyanya, Asokoro General hospitals and National Hospital Abuja. In Nyaya two deaths were recorded while 21 injured. Kuje thirteen person lost their lives and 20 injured.”
I’ll Crush Boko Haram, Bring Their Sponsors To Justice- PMB
President Muhammadu Buhari, while condemnin the latest terror attacks in Abuja yesterday, said his government will stop at nothing in bringing the Boko Haram insurgents and their sponsors to book.
In a statement he personally signed, the president noted that the attacks in Maiduguri, Yola and Abuja were obviously timed to coincide with last Thursday’s Independence Day celebrations when Nigerians would be commemorating and rejoicing, while marking the October 1 Day.
President Buhari wondered what scores the terror group had to settle with the people in Nyanya and the people in market places in Maiduguri, Yola and Kuje.
“These cowardly attacks expose the real face of the planners and perpetrators of these crimes. What quarrel do they have with the good people of Nyanya Motor Park? What issue do they have with innocent people in market places in Maiduguri, Yola and Kuje?” he queried.
In the statement made available to LEADERSHIP, President Buhari also condoled with the families of the dead and prayed for the speedy recovery of the injured.
Vowing to crush the deadly sect, the president said, “It is clear this battle is not ideological. It is between the forces of peace and order and the evil forces of murder and destruction. Security forces and other local authorities have been instructed to maintain extra vigilance to forestall future attacks.”
President Muhammadu Buhari further described the recent bombings by the Boko Haram sect as a desperate act of a retreating, terrorist army and ordered the security services to raise their surveillance activities to meet the challenges of the desperate onslaught of the insurgents and for the general public to remain acutely aware of security in and around them.
Another statement earlier issued by his senior special assistant on media and publicity, Mallam Garba Shehu quoted the President as stating this on Saturday morning after he received a briefing from a fact-finding team he sent to the parts of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) which came under terrorist bombings on Friday evening.
“The President said that for terrorism to be uprooted from the country, the society must be rid of violent extremism”, the presidential spokesman noted.
Members of the fact-finding team included the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Engr. Babachir David Lawal; the Chief of Staff to the president, Malam Abba Kyari; the permanent secretary of the ministry of health and that of the FCT, as well as the police commissioner in charge of the FCT.
APC, Saraki, Dogara, Lasun Condemn Attacks
The All Progressives Congress (APC), Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki and Speaker, House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, in separate statements, also condemned Friday night’s bomb attacks, warning that no amount of cowardly attacks will save the Boko Haram terrorists from imminent defeat.
The APC in a statement issued in Lagos on Saturday by its National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, said the attacks, as well as other recent ones, were part of the cowardly tactics of the terrorists to focus on soft targets, after the military has succeeded in putting them on the run.
It said the avowed determination of the Buhari administration to crush Boko Haram, which has seen the military recording a string of successes against the terrorists, will not be weakened by these dastardly acts that are nothing but the last kicks of a dying monster.
Saraki, who also condemned the bombing, called on security agencies to step up intelligence gathering activities.
He commended the security agencies for their quick response to the incidents in Nyanya and Kuje, especially the prompt evacuation of both the dead and injured to medical facilities where they are receiving needed for medical attention.
He however urged the security agencies to leave no stone unturned in ensuring that the peace that has returned to the Federal Capital Tertiary (FCT) and its environs is not only sustained but improved upon.
The Senate President commiserated with the families of victims of the explosions and wished those hospitalised speedy recovery.
Dogara, who also reacted, described the attacks as callous and saddening.
“I condole with families of victims of these dastardly, heinous and barbaric acts. With the successes being recorded by the military in the North East it has become apparent that Boko Haram is facing imminent defeat after six years of terror reign in our country.
“These well-coordinated and planned attacks were carried out to instill fear in the minds of the citizens. We condemn it in its totality as the handwork of evil-possessed minds. I commiserate with families of the victims, may the good Lord grant them the fortitude to bear the irreparable losses.” the Speaker said.
United States Condoles with bereaved families
Also in a statement issued in Abuja yesterday, the United States strongly condemned the dual explosions in the Nyanya and Kuje areas of Abuja on October 2, and the suicide bombings and militant attacks in Maiduguri and Adamawa on October 1.
“We extend our deepest condolences to the families and loved ones of those killed and injured.
These tragic events are stark reminders that violent extremists will stop at nothing to inflict horrific and indiscriminate harm upon innocent lives. In particular, Boko Haram’s reign of terror and sheer brutality have left thousands dead and millions displaced,” the statement read.
It further pointed out that the United States stands with the government and the people of Nigeria to defeat Boko Haram and other perpetrators of terrorism.
“Through our security and counterterrorism assistance, our unparalleled commitment aims to help Nigeria achieve this goal,” it added.
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