By Suzan Edeh, Bauchi

It was a sobering experience for Bauchi State Governor, Isa Yuguda, when he visited the ATBU Teaching Hospital to see some surviving victims of the bomb blast at the 33 Artillery Brigade, Bauchi that claimed the lives of 13 persons, injuring 40 others.

The visibly shaken Governor had after commiserating with them directed the hospital management to ensure that they were given the best medical attention free of charge as the government would foot the bill. Condemning the act, he assured that his administration would do everything humanly possible to protect lives and properties of the people of the state anywhere they are living, advising them, however, to be vigilant and report any suspicious movements around them to security agents for prompt action.

It was said the perpetrators of the dastardly act were suspected members of the Boko Haram sect who have become notorious for planting and exploding bombs, especially during festive periods.

Vanguard Metro, VM, spoke to one of the victim of the bomb explosion, Mrs.Ruth Ajayi, a beer parlour attendant, who narrowly escaped death at the market. She said: “I was in our shop when I discovered a nylon bag on one of the tables. I decided to remove it because Police have always advised in their message that we should immediately dispose of strange things around us. I took it to the back of the shop where we normally dump refuse and the next thing I heard was an explosion. It was God that saved me from untimely death”.

One Musa Adamu was, however, not that lucky as he was hit by the blast and is now recuperating at the Army Hospital. All the same, he is passionately thanking God for still being alive to tell the story. He said he was sitting among his friends and others enjoying the cool atmosphere of the evening when suddenly there was a loud bang. According to him: “From then on I did not know what happened, I only found myself here on the sick bed”.

Another victim of the blast who is receiving treatment at the ATBU Teaching Hospital and who simply gave his name as Emmanuel could not talk because of the seriousness of his head injury and the pains he is going through. But his relations who are taking care of him said that his condition has somewhat improved from what it was on the first day he was rushed to the hospital.

In his reaction, the Emir of Bauchi, Rilwanu Sulaiman Adamu described the spate of bombing as ungodly and alien to Black civilization and said that no true believer in God would commit such a heinous crime and expect to go unpunished, as Almighty Allah would avenge the death of the innocent. He described the perpetrators as senseless criminals who have no sense of direction and who should be punished for their murderous act. He thanked the National Emergency Manage-ment Agency, NEMA, for its prompt response and prayed that God would save Nigerians from such disasters.

On his part, NEMA’s Director General, Mohammed Sani Sidi, said he was in Bauchi to commiserate with families of the bomb blast victims and the government of Bauchi State over the sad event and prayed that God would protect Nigerians from experiencing such horrific incidents and announced a donation of N250, 000 in addition to 100 blankets, 100 mattresses, 10 bags of rice, 10 bags of beans, five cartons of powdered milk, five cartons of Milo, five cartons of sugar and 10 bags of powdered guinea corn.

Meanwhile, investi-gations conducted by VM revealed that the market is the main source of living for 90 per cent of business owners at the place. That is why most of them are presently lamenting following its indefinite closure by the military authorities.

One of them said thus: “Majority of us have this mammy market as our only source of livelihood. But with what has happened, we have no choice now but to look for other things to do to keep body and soul together. We are not finding it funny because we have to feed, clothe and send our children to school and this entails spending. We hope this will not last too long”.

One Mrs. Bello Mamadu, a hair stylist at the market said that the closing down of the market has affected her business, adding that if her husband is not a civil servant in the state, it would have been difficult for the family to cope with the situation. “Honestly, we business men are the worst hit by this development because our source of living has been affected.

I know that it is part of security measures taken by the military authorities, but we are the ones suffering,” she said. Mrs. Mamadu then appealed to the military authorities and the state government to intervene in the situation by ensuring that the market is re-opened soon so that those affected can meet their daily demands.

Also speaking to VM, another trader named Ugoche Enedu, said that he makes a lot of money from selling beer, but laments that the closure of the market has brought untold suffering to him and his family. “I have to cut down on my spending for now because I money is no longer coming in as before. This morning, I have to borrow from a friend in order to send money to my mother in the village. But if it was when the business was active, I could have been able to meet that demand,” he said.

Meantime, Chief of Army staff, (COAS) Lieutenant General AO Ihejirika, says the Nigeria Army is working on measures to enhance its capacity to combat terrorism, just as he called on security agents to intensify pre-emptive measures by embarking on patrols and check-points and be on alert always. He spoke while on a visit to the 33 Artillery Brigade.

The Army boss also enjoined members of the public to be vigilant and watch out for suspicious characters so as to detect the terrorists before they strike. “The security agents in the state cannot fight terrorism alone, it is the collaborative effort of everybody in the state. That is why we are appealing that members of the public should always be on alert and report any suspicious movements,” he said, adding that a lot of security measures have been put in place to avoid future occurrences and that one important aspect of security in the state would require the cooperation of the general public.

The COAS said the Nigerian Army is going to engage in more training in order to fight terrorist attacks, adding: “We have to re-strategize on how to deal with terrorism activities all over the country; this will be done in conjunction with other security agencies in the country. What happened is a condemnable act and we will deal with the situation with the utmost urgency it deserves”.