‘I was waiting for my boyfriend when I heard bomb explosion’ •Victim of Bauchi brothel explosion recounts ordeals

‘I was waiting for my boyfriend when I heard bomb explosion’ •Victim of Bauchi brothel explosion recounts ordeals

firstclassnewsline  writes about the recent bomb attack on a brothel in Bauchi that left 13 people dead and many injured.

MUSLIM faithful were that night eagerly waiting to hear the news of the sighting of the new moon signifying the commencement of the holy month of Ramadan in which they are expected to fast from dawn to dusk for 29 or 30 days. Amidst the expectations, at about 9:50p.m came a loud bang which reverberated in Bauchi metropolis followed by sporadic gunshots, sending cold shivers down the spines of residents that the sound could be a signal that insurgents were in town.

People then started to make calls asking one another if they heard the sound and what could have happened. When the dust settled, it was finally confirmed that the sound was indeed that of a bomb explosion at a brothel, the People’s Hotel, located at the popular Bayan Gari, a red district area of Bauchi, the Bauchi State capital. That was on Friday, June 27, 2014. That day’s attack on the brothel was the second launched on it within two years.The first occurred sometime in 2012.

So far 13 people had died in the explosion. Ten people were said to have died in the attack that night. But the casualty figure, according to the Bauchi State Commissioner of Police, Lawal Shehu, had risen to 11 by the following day after one of the 28 who sustained varying degrees of injury and who were rushed to the Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University Teaching Hospital (ATBUTH) in Bauchi for treatment, died. Some with minor injuries were treated and promptly discharged, while those with serious cases were admitted in the hospital. Unfortunately, two of victims were confirmed dead at the time of filing this report.

According to CP Shehu, who addressed journalists at the state police headquarters on the bomb explosion the following morning, the assailants deployed Improvised Explosive Device (IED), which though was not of high magnitude, managed to claim the lives of the victims. He explained the counter measures the police were taking to prevent a recurrence of such evil attacks, just as he urged all citizens to be extra conscious and report suspicious people and their activities, movements or objects in their localities to security agencies. According to him the citizenry is a critical stakeholder in the fight against terror.

A night of horror
Sunday Tribune gathered that the attackers came to Bayan Gari in a white Toyota Hilux van which they parked some metres away from the brothel and trekked to the scene where they detonated the IED and took to their heels. They were said to have fired gunshots in their bid to escape from the scene of the explosion.

One of the commercial sex workers in the brothel, who refused to identify herself, told sympathisers who gathered close to the scene of the explosion on Saturday morning that the attackers pointed a gun at the securityman on duty at the brothel’s gate, forced their way in and detonated the explosive in the premises of the brothel, which has a view centre where people were watching one of the matches of the ongoing Brazil 2014 World Cup matches as of the time of the explosion.

“When the people came, they parked their Hilux van somewhere and trekked to this place. The pointed a gun at the gateman to allow them in. Some people were watching TV in the parlour when these evil people entered and threw the bomb,” she said, adding that she saw body parts of some victims packed into a Red Cross ambulance.

She lamented that she saw a shattered remains of one of her colleagues who was killed in blast, saying that, “it was a gory scene. Her room is close to where the evil people threw the bomb. Her body was completely shattered into pieces.”

When Sunday Tribune visited the ATBUTH where the survivors were receiving treatment, some of them volunteered to speak on the incident, while others were either sleeping or declined to talk to us. It was obvious that for the surviving victims, the memories of that Friday night would linger in their minds for the rest of their lives.

For 28-year-old Miss Blessing Lazarus, an indigene of Benue State, who was receiving treatment at the female surgical ward of the hospital, she was at the brothel on the invitation of her boyfriend, who she described as a regular patron of the place, adding that while waiting for the boyfriend she heard a loud explosion which shattered her left hand. Though she thank God for sparing her life, she stated that the incident would forever remain etched in her memory as she was lucky to have escaped death.

“That fateful evening, I was not feeling so well. So my boyfriend called me and said I should wait for him at the People’s Hotel, where he normally relaxes after a hard day’s job. I then went to the hotel to wait for him in one of the rooms in the hotel. It was while I was there waiting that I heard a loud explosion that shattered and pierced my left hand. I only managed to escape from the scene of the incident,” she recounted her ordeal.

Bala Abdullahi, a male victim, was among those watching ongoing FIFA World Cup match when the explosion occurred. He sustained head injury and minor bruises on his face. According to him, “I started going to People’s hotel since the Brazil 2014 World Cup started, because I like watching football matches in the midst of my friends. That evening of the attack, we were all watching the highlights of the Argentina/Iran match with excitement when all of a sudden we heard a loud explosion that almost deafen me.

“When I heard the explosion, I lay flat on the ground because I did not know if I stand up, another one may explode or I might even be hit by a stray bullet as the attackers were shooting guns. I didn’t see the attackers as I lost consciousness and did know what happened to me. The next thing I knew was that I saw myself in the hospital here.”

In his own account, Babaji Ahmed, who said he was a student of the Abubakar Tatari Ali Polytechnic (ATAP), Bauchi, said he was also at the scene of the explosion to watch the World Cup match, adding that he had barely entered the place when the IED went off.

According to him, “I left my house at the new G.R.A and was heading for my friend’s place at Fadama Mada area to collect a practical work notebook. I decided to branch at the People’s Hotel briefly to watch the football match. I had barely sat down for five minutes, when I heard an explosion. I could not move because my whole body was badly injured.

“As I lay down there, I heard gunshots and people screaming and running for safety. Shattered beer bottles pierced through my skin and that is why you can see all these wounds on my body, but I am getting better. Thank God that I am alive today to tell you this my experience.”

Though the whole nation had loudly condemned the attack, the Bauchi State government vowed to bring the perpetrators to book. Bauchi State governor, Mallam Isa Yuguda, through his Chief Press Secretary (CPS), Mr Ishola Micheal Adeyemi, had condemned the terror act, assuring that no effort would be spared in bringing the perpetrators to book.

While commiserating with those who lost their loved ones in the explosion and wishing the injured a quick recovery, Yuguda regretted that the attack was perpetrated at the time the Muslim community was beginning the Holy month of Ramadan. He, however, reassured that his administration would remain committed to the protection of life and property of every citizens of the state, which he said was the primary function of the state, saying that government would not relent in ensuring that peace and peaceful atmosphere continued to reign in the state.

He commended the security agents for their prompt intervention that put the act in check from spreading to other parts of the town, reassuring that the security agents would continue to work round the clock to fish out bad eggs in the society and directed that all the injured victims of the bomb blast be treated free of charge on the bill of the state government. Governor Yuguda also directed that those that needed to be referred to other hospitals outside the state for proper medical attention be taken out without any delay.

Meanwhile, it seems that the People’s Hotel is heading for closure as its director,Mr Ifeanyi Ezesi, told journalists that he was relocating the hotel, which he inherited from his father, in view of the continuous attacks on it, which he said did not make the place safe for him and his clients.

He stated that he was not only traumatized by the recent attack but also devastated as he was still having nightmares seeing the shattered bodies of the victims, blood and dead bodies everywhere that night.

“I think the time has come for me to relocate from the state because of the continued attack on my hotel business by Boko Haram. They have already passed the message to me that my presence is not needed in the state, so I just have to leave for the security of my family. This is the second time they are attacking this hotel. The first attack was in 2012. The second attack now in 2014. I think it is high time to leave,” Ezesi said.