Blood, sorrow, tears in Abuja •Over 100 reportedly killed •71 dead, 124 critically injured –Police

BLOOD flowed freely at Nyanya, an outskirts of Abuja, with several dead bodies and charred human parts littering the ground in and around el-Rufal Park, Nyanya, after a high-calibre explosive went off on Monday.
It was a gory sight at the park used by Abuja Mass Transit Company and inter-city transporters, as the victims, mostly workers on their way to various workplaces, perished amid wailings, confusions and frustrations.
Most of the pictures taken at the scene of the incident could not be published, because they were gory to behold.

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The explosive device was said to have been loaded in a Volkswagen Golf car by a suspected suicide bomber, who was said to have disguised himself in police uniform and driven his vehicle into the park before detonating the device.
A security personnel gave the number plate of the vehicle used in the attack as XQ 299 LSD, but preferred anonymity.
When the people at the park confronted the driver of the vehicle on why he should park the way he did, he simply told them that he was going to look for lower denomination change and should be given a few minute to come and move the car away.
The source further revealed that not quite 10 minutes after the driver had left the scene, there was a heavy explosion.
The explosion burnt all the vehicles and passengers going to Nasarawa, Lagos and Benue, while the luxury buses going to Wuse and Berger were also affected.
The huge explosion also left a big crater at the scene.
An eyewitness disclosed that luxury buses, as well as smaller commercial vehicles had already loaded and were set to convey their passengers to Abuja centre when the explosive went off.
The sound was so loud that it was heard as far as Jikwoyi and Lugbe, while it affected buildings close to the scene, even as an eyewitness told the Nigerian Tribune that the explosive was like an earthquake.
Force Public Relations Officer, Frank Mba, who spoke on behalf of the security agencies at the scene, gave the casualty figure as 71, adding that 124 persons were critically injured.
He further disclosed that the explosion affected 16 buses recently introduced by the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA), while 24 other vehicles were damaged by the blast.
But the Nigerian Tribune counted 33 vehicles of various brands, 20 luxury buses and over 14 motorcycles.
The dead bodies, some burnt beyond recognition, alongside the survivors were evacuated by combined emergency and rescue teams comprising officials from the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), FCT Fire Service, State House Hospital Ambulances Services, Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) and FCT Directorate of Road Traffic Services.
The survivors were taken to nine hospitals, which included Asokoro General Hospital, which already had 30 victims as of the time of this report.
Among the victims was a woman and her 10-year-old daughter, while her older daughter, Goodnews, survived and was rushed to Asokoro General Hospital.
FCT Minister, who was out of the country at the time the incident occurred, was said to have cut short his lesser hajj operations and was being expected back today.
Minister of State for FCT, Jumoke Akinjide, was also out of Abuja and was in Ibadan, Oyo State, waiting to receive President Goodluck Jonathan, who was billed to arrive the state capital on Monday, before the incident happened.
She was said to have also cut short her visit to Ibadan and said she was saddened by the lost of lives.
“I am deeply saddened by the loss of lives engendered by the bomb blast at a motor park in Nyanya. As a mother and a family person, my heart goes out to the several families who have lost their loved ones due to the bomb blast,” she said.
The minister, in a text message on her behalf by her special assistant on media, Ayodeji Adeyemi, said “I call on Nigerians to remember the bereaved in prayers. I assure all Abuja residents that the government will do everything within its might to protect the lives and property of all.”
Rabia Labaran, an assistant information officer at the National Hospital, disclosed that more than 100 victims, comprising the dead and the injured, were brought to the hospital.
Also, the Chief Medical Director of Maitama General Hospital, Dr Sotimehin Adetohun, confirmed to journalists that 14 dead bodies and 37 injured persons were brought to the hospital.
He also disclosed that two victims in critical conditions were transferred to the National Hospital.
The Chief of Defence Staff, Air Chief Marshal Alex Badeh; Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant-General K.T.J. Minimah; Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Usman Jibrin and the Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Adesola Amosu, were all at the scene of the incident, though they did not talk with newsmen.
President Goodluck Jonathan also visited the scene and hospitals accompanied by Senator David Mark, to commiserate with the injured and the families of the dead.
Survivors recount ordeals
SOME of the survivors of the bomb blasts, on Monday, narrated their ordeals and how they escpaed to newsmen.
One of them, Mr Chima Okere, a businessman, in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), said the explosions came from two white buses parked inside the Nyanya motor park by the gate.
“I was inside the El-Rufai bus. As we were driving out of the park to the highway, we heard the explosion from the two white buses. I saw so many dead people; some with their limbs dismembered from their bodies.
“I was lucky, I did not know how I survived. I thank God for my life as very many were not so lucky,’’ Okere said.
Another survivor, Ms Charity Enang from Cross River, said she was inside a Coaster bus when the blast occurred.
“All we heard was ‘boom’ and I saw bodies flying out of the window of the bus.
“I couldn’t stand after I fell in the bus, but one man carried me out and took me to an ambulance that brought me to Nyanya hospital,” she said.
A relative of a survivor, Mr Friday Attah, a driver, who lives in Mararaba, Nasarawa State, told NAN that his brother’s cab was damaged by the blast.
“Somebody called to inform me that they saw my brother at Nyanya hospital and I am thankful to God that he is stable and alive,” he said.
Authorities of Wuse General Hospital confirmed that 15 dead people were brought into the hospital.
Mr John Nimzing, the head of mortuary attendants in the hospital, told NAN that 11 people were brought in dead while four died on arrival at the hospital.
At Asokoro General Hospital, the Chief Medical Director, Dr Amodu Abubakar, said 27 bodies were deposited in the hospital morgue, while 25 people were receiving treatment for their wounds.
He, however, said more victims were still being brought to the hospital as of the time of filing this report.
At the National Hospital, Abuja, 15 bodies were reported to have been deposited at the hospital morgue while the number of casualties was not known.
Dr Yakubu Bukar, Consultant, Accident and Emergency, Garki Hospital, confirmed that one injured person was brought to the hospital.
At Nyanya General Hospital, the authorities said no fewer than 100 injured persons received treatment.
Dr Frank Idekwu, the Chief Medical Director of the hospital, said scores of the wounded were referred to other hospitals for further medical attention.
The hospital, designed for women and children, became a bee-hive of activities as relatives, friends and families combed the wards in search for their loved ones.
Nigerians troop to hospital to donate bloodBy Chris Agbambu -Abuja

HUNDREDS of Nigerians, on Monday, besieged four hospitals in Abuja, to donate blood for the victims of Nyanya bomb blast.
The crowd was overwhelming that the staff of the hospitals found it difficult to control the crowd.
Hospitals visited were Asokoro General Hospital, Wuse General Hospital, Maitama General Hospital and the National Hospital, Abuja.
The deluge of people followed calls by the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) for Nigerians to donate blood for the victims.
Boko Haram, unwarranted distraction —Jonathan Visits scene of Nyanya bomb blast
PRESIDENT Goodluck Jonathan visited the scene of the explosion which rocked popular Nyanya Motor Park at the outskirt of Abuja, on Monday, in which about 71 persons were killed and 124 injured, saying that Boko Haram was an unwarranted distraction at a time everything was being done to move the country forward.
Accompanied by Senate President David Mark, the national chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Dr  Ahmed Muazu, service chiefs and other top government functionaries, he arrived the scene at about 12.15p.m. and immediately proceeded to inspect the huge crater created by the impact of the bomb.
Speaking to reporters after the being briefed by security agencies, he condoled with the families of the victims of the attack and pledged government’s continued commitment to deal with terrorism in the country.
While urging the media to enlighten the populace on need to be more security-conscious, he said the Boko Haram’s activities were setting the nation backwards, noting, however, that terrorism was temporary and would soon end.
Jonathan said: “Let us collectively express our condolences to the families of those who suffered directly from the incident. I am also commending security services for their prompt action, though we lost quite a number of people. We condole with our countrymen and women.
“We will continue to work very hard. The issue of Boko Haram is temporary. Government is doing everything to make sure that we move our country forward, in spite of all the distractions that want to take us backwards. We promise that we will get over it.
“We also want to use this unique opportunity to plead with the media and our pressmen to come up with enlightenment programme for our people.
“So, we believe that if people will become observant and all of us become security-conscious, we will be able to reduce some of these incidents.
“We will do our best, the security services will continue to work very hard and God’s willing, we will get over it. The issue of Boko Haram is temporary; surely, we will get over it,” he declared.
Nyanya Motor Park was a gory sight on Monday morning, as victims’ personal effects and human blood littered the ground in the area which received the greatest impact of the explosion which was heard kilometres away from the park.
Before the arrival of the president, the area had been cordoned off by a combined team of military, police and Department of State Security (DSS), as forensic experts picked items which might provide clues about the bomb blast from the about two-feet deep crater created by the bomb.
Eyewitnesses’ accounts blamed the explosion on a red colour Volkswagen Golf car, whose occupants forced their way into the park even when they were told to stop as some passengers-filled buses were about to depart the park.
Two occupants of the car were said to have argued that they just needed to park their vehicle and after that, they were said to have walked away, followed by the explosion which was apparently remotely controlled.
Chairman of the park, Baba Nagode, told the Nigerian Tribune that he was at home when he got a phone call about the incident and, therefore, was unable to give details.
However, he regretted the absence of security in the park, saying that the management of the park had made several representations to government to provide security to no avail.
“Over 80 buses ferry people to the city centre from here everyday. There is no other bus terminal in Abuja with that kind of capacity, but we have no security. I have been shouting even on radio programmes and newspapers, but nothing has been done,” he lamented.
IGP visits scene, calls for calm, places operatives on red alert
IN a swift reaction to the Monday morning bomb blast at a motor park in Nyanya, the Inspector-General of Police (IGP), MD Abubakar, visited the scene of the explosion where he assessed the extent of damage and the impact on the surrounding environment.
He urged the citizens and the international community to remain calm and vigilant, as the police and other security agencies were stepping up measures to uncover the perpetrators of the crime and avoid a recurrence of such unfortunate incident.
The IGP further noted that security agents had relentlessly worked round the clock with significant success to stave off such attacks on the federal capital territory (FCT) and the country at large and, therefore, reassured Nigerians and foreign nationals that security agencies would do anything possible to further strengthen the security within and beyond FCT.
Consequently, the IGP has placed police operatives on red alert and has equally ordered the police to intensify surveillance on all vulnerable targets within Abuja.
In a statement by the police spokesman, CSP Frank Mba, said that the police, supported by other law enforcement agencies, had commenced a full-scale investigation into the incident, with the deployment of the Police Anti-Bomb Squad and other detectives to the scene.
He said regrettably that 71 persons had been confirmed dead, while 124 sustained various degrees of injuries. 
Mba added that while commiserating with the families of the victims of the blast, the IGP had called on the members of the public to go about their normal businesses without fear and cooperate with the police by providing useful information in order to ensure that the perpetrators of this dastardly act were brought to book.
Allah will expose perpetrators —SultanBy Hassan Ibrahim - Kaduna

THE Sultan of Sokoto and President- General of the Jama’atu Narsil Islam (JNI), Alhaji Sa’ad Abubakar, has declared that Allah will expose the perpetrators of the recent bomb attacks which had left hundreds of Nigerians dead.
“We condemn the bombing in strong terms and pray that Allah will expose the perpetrators in the nearest future. There is the urgent need for the government to come to the aid of innocent Nigerians, who are always victims of the attacks and bombings.
“If the government thinks there are things to be done along religious line to stop the killings, we are 100 per cent ready, but we must put aside sentiments of all kinds. We commiserate with all those who lost their loved ones in all the insurgencies,” he said.
According to the Sultan, Nigerians needed to unite in the face of the insurgency, religion or tribe not- withstanding and put an end to the spate of killings, especially in the North-East.
Disturbed by the worsening plight of Muslims in today’s Nigeria, the Sultan of Sokoto said that gone were the days when they would only talk without following it with action, just as he called on the Muslim Ummah to be very open with the Muslim leaders and tell them what they were supposed to do.
The Sultan, who spoke on Monday in Kaduna, during the opening ceremony of Central Working Committee meeting of the JNI, said they would now be proactive and not be caught napping, as they shall leave no stone unturned in their resolve to ensure Muslims had their right of place in Nigeria.
Abubakar and Governor Mukhtar Ramalan Yero, of Kaduna State, who declared the meeting open, however, condemned in strong terms the bombing at Nyanya in Abuja, which claimed the lives of many innocent Nigerians.
The Almighty Allah, they prayed, would intervene in exposing the perpetrators and ensure that Nigeria remained in peace.
Specifically, the Sultan expressed deep sadness over the continued killings of innocent people, saying Muslims were at the receiving end, as many of them were being killed since the beginning of insurgency in 2009.
He said JNI was honoured by President Goodluck Jonathan, who was ably represented by Vice President Namadi Sambo, the previous day, during the JNI golden jubilee lecture.
In his remarks, Governor Yero said the only solution to the killings was prayers, calling on Nigerians to “turn to God in prayers, seek forgiveness and further harp on the need to put aside sentiments.

source: tribune