Nasarawa Bomb Explosion: Death Rises To 56

Nasarawa Bomb Explosion: Death Rises To 56

The number of people killed in the bomb explosion that happened on Tuesday night in Rukubi, a border region between Nasarawa and Benue States, has now reached 56; the reason for the explosion is still under investigation.

At the scene of the bomb explosion, Mallam Haruna Bawa, a native of Rukubi, reported counting over 54 dead bodies, including four of his brothers.

Malam Bawa stated in an interview with Saturday Vanguard in Lafia that he hurried to the explosion site after hearing a loud noise and seeing thick smoke coming from the area. Malam Bawa was also at Dalhatu Araf Specialist Hospital in Lafia to care for his injured brother.

According to him, “some of the people who died in the attack were butchers who were invited to slaughter the cows that fell ill while in detention in order to avoid wasting the cows”.

The spokesperson of the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria, Tasi’u Suleman, said: “at least 54 people died instantly while the injured were many.”

Another victim of the bomb explosion, Malam Usman Bawa, who was receiving medical treatment at the Dalhatu Araf Specialist Hospital, Lafia, said the attack was “unprovoked”.

He recalled that upon their arrival from Benue State, where the cows had been detained for days due to a violation of the state government’s anti-open-grazing legislation, inhabitants of the region had gone out in huge numbers from their homes in the Rukubi community to offload their animals.

According to Mallam Bawa, “some of them were bringing down the cows from the vehicle, others were preventing them from going to the stream to drink water, having not been fed for days”.

The explosion, which left Mallam Bawa with several wounds on various portions of his body, broke both of his legs, yet he was grateful to God for saving his life.

Mallam Adamu Abdullahi, a different victim of the explosion, claimed that three of his friends who had traveled with him to the location to receive the cows were killed, but he managed to flee with a broken arm and extensive cuts on his stomach and other parts of his body.

According to him, “it was not clear if it was an airstrike or whether the explosion came from a bomb or other explosive devices that had been planted in the vehicle that conveyed the cows.

The victims demanded that the federal government form an impartial inquiry panel to examine the circumstances leading up to the explosion, adding that those responsible for the horrific act should be brought to justice.

Many of the bomb blast survivors were being treated privately, while others were being transported to Dalhatu Araf Specialist Hospital in Lafia, where two additional victims eventually passed away.