“Some Victims’ Heads Were Split Into Two…” – Nyanya Tragedy Survivors Speak Up

Photo: Nyanya survivors recall ordealsSurvivors of Thursday evening explosion in Nyanya, Abuja, which occurred close to the scene of a less than 3-week-old explosion, narrated their ordeals about another Abuja tragedy, which has already claimed 19 lives.

Scores of severely injured people are currently receiving treatment in hospitals. While most of them suffered various degrees of burns, some had fractures of various body parts, The Nation reports.

Survivors speak 

Fruit seller Aminu Umar had a narrow escape that day only because upon arrival to his usual place he saw that it had already been occupied by someone else. Thus he had to set up his fruit stand at some distance.

“The blast was scary. A motorcycle operator was beside the car that exploded. The motorcycle and its operator were the first to catch fire before the fire engulfed other cars. When I realised what had happened, I ran off… Unfortunately, the fruit seller that took over my spot died in the explosion.”

Luckily Aminu sustained minor injuries which were stitched in a private hospital, because the Nyanya General Hospital had many other victims delivered with serious injuries. 

Businessman Chief Obiora Anibuike, who cheated death, also narrated his story. The man was coming back from Masaka in his auto, when the bomb went off. 

“And because the doors of the car were locked, I had to jump out through the window. My head was drenched in blood and I shouted for help. Bystanders quickly covered my head with clothe but I did not know what was wrong until I was taken to Asokoro Hospital where I later saw other victims of the blast.”

Eyewitnesses speak

One of the eyewitnesses recalls the first moments of the tragedy:

“A victim was shouting for help near the car that exploded saying: ‘Come and help me! Do you want me to die? Do you want this fire to consume me? Come and help me! Come and help me!’ On rushing there, there was no ambulance or security agent around to rescue him while the car was on fire. Two of the victims had their heads split into two, while a victim was cut into three.”

The eyewitness said they did everything possible to help rescue the victims, saying:

“It was a terrible scene because the skin of many of the victims peeled off while being rescued. Some had broken legs and arms and it took about 30 or 40 minutes before security agencies arrived… There were no security agencies around like they used to be at Nyanyan because if they were on ground, we would have seen them when we started rescuing people. We were left to help the victims on our own.”

Residents speak

Locals lamented that they did not feel protected and asked Goodluck Jonathan to urge security agencies be responsive. 

One of them said:

“The Golf car that was used came through Nasarawa Road. That means the vehicle travelled all the way to this place without passing through security checks on the road. If the vehicle could beat security agents or check points before coming here, then it shows we have no security in this country.”

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