Abuja May Day Blast: 19 killed, 60 injured - Police, How i escaped death – Survivor

The Police yesterday confirmed that 19 people were killed while 60 were injured in Thursday's blast at Nyanya, near Abuja.

The Force Public Relations Officer, CSP Frank Mba, in a statement said that soon after the blasts at 7.15pm, the police and other law enforcement agents and emergency response officers rushed to the scene and evacuated the injured victims to hospitals for medical attention.

He said: "The blast left 19 persons dead and 66 others with varying degrees of injuries. Six of the injured however have been treated and discharged."

He advised families seeking information on their missing loved ones to visit the following hospitals: Asokoro General Hospital; Maitama General Hospital; Wuse General Hospital; National Hospital; Mararaba General Hospital; Nyanya General Hospital; Customs Hospital, Karu; Gwagwalada Specialist Hospital and Pan-Raf Hospital, Nyanya. He said the Police had already commenced a full scale investigation into the blast.

The police, along with other security agencies, have accordingly cordoned off the scene of the explosion, where the Police Anti-bomb Squad recovered and defused three Improvised Explosive Devices (IED).

He advised the public to keep off all scenes of blast and other related crimes "in order to avoid the contamination of crime scene and protect the public from the risk associated with such crime scenes."

It was gathered that forensic experts have retrieved some components of the Improvised Explosive Devices (IED) used by those behind the bomb blast.

"We have started probing the latest explosion. All security agencies are working round the clock to get clues on the explosion. We have so far retrieved some components of the IED for forensic analysis," a top security source said.

"We hope to get to the roots of the spate of bombings in this axis and other parts of the country."

SURVIVOR RECOUNT HORROR

One of the survivors, who is a fruit seller at the park, Aminu Umar, explained how he escaped death. "I had arrived late for business on the day of the incident but someone else had taken over my usual spot and refused to vacate; hence, I set up my stand beside a suya seller."

"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. The Suya seller, who did not run but stayed back to watch the scene, paid dearly for his indiscretion. A piece of iron flew out of the burning car and broke his head into two.

"Unfortunately, the fruit seller that took over my spot died in the explosion. I ran to my elder brother across the road and he rushed me first to the Nyanya General Hospital. But the doctors had so many people to treat; hence, I was moved to a private hospital in Maraba, where my brother paid N4,000 for my treatment. The injuries were stitched and I was discharged in the morning.

"I had just purchased oranges worth N5,000 and barely made N450 from sales before the unfortunate incident ruined my business".