Kaduna Blasts: Casualty Figure Hits 24 …As Moslem Congress Condemns Attacks

Eight more people have been confirmed dead, as hospitals in Kaduna metropolis battle to save lives of victims of Sunday bomb explosion, The Tide source has confirmed.

Five of the victims on admission at the St. Gerard Hospital were confirmed dead by the Public Relations Officer of the hospital, Mr Sunday Ali.

He said three of the patients had also been referred to Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital, Shika, leaving only two at the hospital.

He said one of the remaining victims had a successful surgery on Monday night.

Officials of Barau Dikko Specialists Hospital also confirmed that three of the eight victims on admission at the hospital had lost their lives .

The figure raises the death toll to 24, after the 16 confirmed killed on the day of the incident by the State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA).

The Police are however claiming that only 11 people were killed in the explosion.

Meanwhile, the victims are still waiting for the assistance promised them by the Acting Governor of the state, Alhaji Ramalan Yero, during his visit to hospitals where the victims are receiving treatment.

Relations of some of the victims urged the state government to take over the payment of the medical bills of all those affected by the blast.

“Nobody assisted us with anything since their admittance to the hospital,” one of the relations, Mai Unguwa Ali said.

Ali, whose brother, Mansur Ali, a commercial motorcyclist, was a victim, said he paid for the drugs and other medical charges.

“I found it difficult to pay for the treatment due to the nature of the injury,” Ali said.

Another relation, Ubale Awwal, said his brother, Nura Leko, a student, sustained injuries on his leg and parts of the body during the incident.

“I need help for his treatment. I was not happy with government’s response to the victims’ treatment,’’ he said.

The Senior Special Assistant to the Governor on Media, Mr Reuben Buhari, assured that the government would refund the medical bills incurred by the victims.

He said the government was still compiling the list of those affected and the hospitals they were admitted, for easy handling of the payments.

Meanwhile, the Muslim Congress (TMC) on Tuesday condemned the Easter Sunday bombing in Kaduna and described the Boko Haram sect as questionable crisis that should be tackled by government at all levels.

The congress, in a statement by its President, Mr Luqman Abdulraheem, in Lagos, said the killing was a ploy to turn Christians against Muslims and to endanger the peaceful coexistence of the country.

“Boko Haram insurgency is indeed a questionable crisis that must be proactively resolved by the federal, state and local governments, as well as security operatives.

“The Muslim and Christian communities in Nigeria are tired of the senseless bombings,’’ the statement said.

The TMC noted that the activities of the Boko Haram had dented the image of the country nationally and internationally, as well as created fear, terror and panic among the people.

It urged government at all levels to close ranks toward making activities of the sect “a thing of the past”.

“We see the continued bombings of sanctuaries and innocent Nigerians by the Boko Haram as a total failure of the nation’s security system that has consistently displayed incompetence in securing lives and property of Nigerians.

“We are tired of empty assurances and promises from the security agencies that they are on top of the situation,’’ it said.

The statement appealed to politicians, statesmen and opinion leaders to support the Federal Government in putting the situation under control.

The congress lauded President Goodluck Jonathan for the establishment of a special Almajiri School in Sokoto State and urged leaders from the north to embrace the initiative.