AS they counted their losses sorrowfully, some relatives of people affected by Thursday’s blast at Nyanya Friday lamented the increasing state of insecurity in the country, calling on government to live up to the duty of protecting citizens.
Early figures indicate that there were 34 injured and 12 corpses at Asokoro General Hospital, and 4 dead and 29 injured at Maitama and Nyanya General Hospitals.
They are also calling for new strategy and approach in curbing the continuous threats to lives and properties in the country.
Miss Ladi Mudugah, a 24-year-old student of the Institute of Non-Formal Education in Gombe State, was in Abuja on holiday and was staying with her elder sister. The explosion ripped through Ladi’s body and she didn’t survive the massive damage to her system.
Her elder sister, Samirah Abubakar Atiku was at the mortuary of the Asokoro General Hospital in company of other relatives to claim late Ladi’s body.
Atiku’s sorrow could better be imagined as she battled the sight of her younger sister.
As she found her voice amidst sobs, she cried out: “The government should do something about the security situation in the country, this is something that used to happen in the northern states, now it has reached Abuja. We are no longer safe anywhere in Nigeria.”
Mr Chukwudi Okoye was also at the mortuary to claim the body of his younger brother, Ken.
Okoye too urged the government to rise to the occasion. He lamented: “I don’t know how to relative this story to his wife.”
Secretary of the Maitama General Hospital, Mrs Angela Effiong, told newsmen that four victims were brought to the hospital. One of the victims, she stressed, was referred to the National Hospital having sustained serious burns.
One of the victims at the hospital, Miss Hadiza narrated how she and her friend were waiting to board a vehicle going to Area 1 when the explosion occurred: “The first vehicle we saw was already filled-up. My friend suggested that we moved forward a little. Besides us was a white car with nobody inside and before I could get to my friend, the explosion went off and that was my last moment with her.”
Hadiza narrated how she was thrown to the ground by the explosion. She lost a leg to the blast.
“When I regained consciousness, I couldn’t stand up again. I noticed that my right leg was no more.”
The Nyanya General Hospital has said that about 29 persons were brought to hospital immediately after the bomb blast.
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