“I asked him, ‘Where are you going’, he said, ‘I have not decided'”: READ Kano suicide bomb survivor’s chilling story

by Rachel Ogbu

Vitim of the attack
Victim of the attack (Photo: Vanguard)

Abdullahi Maiagogo Gayawa, 70, sells wrist watches at the motor park in the Sabon-Gari area of Kano. He said that on Monday March 18, it was business as usual for him but in a middle of one transaction, he suddenly heard a loud bang which sent him sprawling on the ground.

That loud bang was a terrorist attack, a bus with passengers on their way to Lagos State had been blown up leaving more than 50 dead and many others hospitalized.

READ: SAD PHOTOS: 30 people feared dead after Sabon Gari motor park blast in Kano (GRAPHIC IMAGES)

Initially, I could not comprehend what happened but rose and took to my heels only to notice that my stomach was ripped open, with my intestines gorging out.

I quickly packed my intestines with my cloth and was trying to escape from the scene when suddenly I woke up in the hospital surrounded by a team of medical doctors”.

looking fragile and weak, Gayawa spoke to reporters from his sick-bed: “I saw death at a close range and I had almost given up hope of living but all praises to Allah for His intervention.”

[READ: Fear of revenge attacks: Northern indigenes flee Onitsha following Monday’s bus bombing in Kano]

Gayawa further explained that “as you can see I am still active and I struggle hard to feed my family and this particular motor park where the incident occurred is my place of business and I had been getting serious patronage from the travelers.”

In the stretch of my life spanning seven decades, I have never seen this kind of trouble, the bang was so loud that I saw many going down, covered with their blood and the wailing that followed was such that I thought the end of time has come”.

Gayawa’s shrilling account from the incident is one he would never forget and his story is just one of many from that dreadful day.

According to Tunde Kazeem, an auto-mechanic in the area, many people ran away from the area with blood on their clothes.

“There was a huge blast at the New Road motor park,” said the mechanic.

“The blast was followed by billows of black smoke and there was a lot of confusion with people rushing out of the motor park, some of them with blood on their clothes.”

Magawata Goje, 45, another survivor who made it to the hospital said: “I was inside the Lagos-bound luxury bus when the blast occurred. I was seated at the back seat, and it was Allah that understands how I survived the blast.

“I heard people saying that I was dead because I was covered with blood and I could see a lot of people in comatose position and I had to raise my hand to draw the attention of the rescuers before they attended to me.

Goje had sustained second degree burns to his neck and hand and was surrounded by his wife, children and other members of his family at the hospital. “Look at my wife and children watching from outside and you can imagine what will become of their lives if adequate measure is not taken to save my life”.

Hamisu Usman, another survivor, said he was in a Port Harcourt-bound bus when a blast ripped through, “and the rest I knew was that I found myself in the hospital where the doctor was telling me to remain calm”.

Emmanuel Bassey, a 40-year-old man who claimed to work for Ezewanta Group of Motors told Vanguard reporters he spoke with the suicide bomber just before he attacked.

“The guy came in a blue Golf car, I could recall that he was dark in complexion and appeared to be in his mid-30’s. He was calm during my brief interaction with him and did not look harmful. I asked him where he was going, and he said, ‘I have not decided’, and in no time some of my colleagues at the park were rushing towards him and suddenly he sped off, applied brake close to a loaded vehicle and in a twinkle of an eye, I heard a loud bang that sent me sprawling on the ground”, Bassey explained.

Bassey said that four of his colleagues who ran after him to find out what part in the south he wanted to go all died on the spot as soon as the bomb went off while he suffered second degree burns. According to reports, Bassey was in bad shape when he arrived at the hospital, he had lost his skin and his stomach was ripped open, but he has now undergone several procedures and appeared to be in a stable condition.

“Men, I saw hell and believed that I was going to die before some good Samaritan brought me to the hospital, “he said.

Bassey revealed a deep hole on his stomach saying: “I was simply not lucky on the day of carnage but all the same I give glory to God that I am alive but I hope government will do their best to bring the perpetrators to book”.

 

 

Comments (2)

  1. Govt should rise up to th occasion and take a decision on how to put a stop to all these.

  2. Wat do these evil perpetrators want?this is unfair and henious.I pray the lord intervenes

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