By Suzan Edeh

Following the Friday’s explosion at First Bank, Azare, Bauchi State, which left seven dead and 10 injured, some of the victims have relived the attack.

Victim of the bomb blast at Azare First bank on admission at the Federal Medical Centre, Azare

A witness said the bomb blast occurred at the Automated Teller Machine (ATM) of the bank as customers were on queue to make withdrawals around 9a.m.

He said some people were killed instantly while others died as they were being taken to hospital.

Other witnesses said mostly affected were Bauchi State civil servants waiting to collect their salaries.

Some of the victims, who sustained injuries and are receiving treatment at the Federal Medical Centre, Azare, are grateful to God for sparing their lives.

Recounting what happened, Mohammed Garba, a civil servant, said the bomber came to the ATM machine and joined the queue.

‘’The bomber was not a female because I saw him; he was wearing white Caftan. He joined the queue, carrying something that looked like a bag”, he said.

“ You know First Bank is usually patronized by many residents, particularly civil servants. There were like 25 customers waiting to make transactions. I was the second to the last person on the queue before the bomb exploded.

“When the bomb exploded, the whole place was covered with smoke and human parts littered the ground. I was lucky that I did not sustain injury. When I recovered, I quickly left the scene before.

A student at the College of Education, Azare, who did want to mention her name, said she lost her colleague in the incident.

She said, “ I saw Suleiman last on Wednesday. It was one of my friends who called to inform me about his death. I asked several people who confirmed that he was at the ATM when the blast took place”.

She claimed that there was pandemonium after the blast as hoodlums took advantage of the situation to attack innocent residents.

Another survivor, who spoke anonymously, said most of the dead were civil servants trying to withdraw their salaries.

He said, “Most of the victims were civil servants because salaries were being paid and the queue was quite long. I just arrived the bank,  not up to five minutes, when I heard an explosion that almost shattered my ear drums. I immediately started running for my life.”

Meanwhile, five suspects have been arrested in connection with the attack.

According to Bauchi State Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Haruna Mohammed, out of the 10 people that sustained injuries, five have been discharged from hospital.

He said detectives had begun investigation into the incident.