A car bomb exploded on a busy road in late Thursday, days before the city is to host a major international economic forum. The death toll is conflicting . But a statement co-signed by the Head, Public Relations, NSCDC and NEMA Press Officer, Emmanuel Ezekiel, said that 10 bodies had been deposited in the mortuary while 13 unconscious persons were receiving treatment in different hospitals. At Asokoro General Hospital, 16 dead bodies were on the ground.
"While security agencies have condoned off the area of the explosion in Nyanya, Abuja, response agencies have moved injured victims to hospitals and at least 10 lifeless bodies have been deposited in the mortuary while 13 unconscious victims are receiving medical attention in different hospitals in Abuja. Other injured victims too are being attended to." the statement read in part.
The bomb
exploded near a checkpoint in Karshi Taxi Park beside furniture market in Nyanya, where
a massive explosion on April 14 killed at least 75 people.
The bus station was loaded with people on their way back home for the May Day holiday.
There is a call for people to donate blood for those with injuries.
Thursday's bomb comes days before Abuja is to host the World Economic Forum on
Africa, with Chinese Premier Li Keqiang as an honored guest. The
government is deploying 6,000 police to protect the May 7-9 event, which
attracts world leaders, policymakers, philanthropists and business
leaders to discuss Africa's economic growth prospects.
Civil
Defense Corps spokesman Emmanuel Okeh said rescuers with ambulances and
fire engines rushed to the scene of the blast on May Day.
Witnesses
said a car laden with explosives drove close to the checkpoint and a
man jumped out and ran as it blew up. Lines of traffic are normal at the
checkpoint where soldiers and police search vehicles since the bombing
two weeks ago.Security sources said the perpetrators of the blast might have planned
to leave the explosive-laden car at the motor park overnight so that it
could be detonated on Friday (today) for maximum effect, but the bomb
accidentally went off, killing the driver and other innocent people.
Two
unexploded IEDs were found at the scene.A resident in the area recounted the incident:
He said, “I went to the park, but the
scene was alight with burning vehicles and there were corpses of people
on the ground as well as dismembered bodies; there were body parts on
the ground including hands, and heads. It was a gory sight and I had to
leave the scene.”
Speaking on the incident last night, a security source said that the two successive attacks might not be unconnected with political considerations as the 2015 elections loom.
He added that they are also targeted at frightening participants and
stopping the country from hosting the World Economic Forum (WEF)
scheduled for May 7 to 9.
He revealed that as a result of the second attack on Nyanya, President
Goodluck Jonathan has summoned an emergency security council meeting to
take place today in order to review the latest development and devise a
strategy to combat the menace of rising insecurity in the country.
The security source added that the situation had become very critical
requiring the president to take tough decisions to contain the crisis
and bring the perpetrators to book.
"These spate of attacks have politics written all over them. They are
also targeted at stopping the World Economic Forum where Nigeria would
have been able to showcase itself as the largest economy in Africa and
premier investment destination on the continent.
"For this reason, the president has summoned an emergency security council meeting to address the crisis head on," he said.
This is quite sad and heartbreaking! How many more lives will be lost before something is done? How long will this go on?
Jonathan and his administration should step down. They are not up to the task.
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