Published February 25, 2021
Kayode Idowu and Dogara Bitrus
As residents of Maiduguri settle to normalcy after multiple explosions rocked the state capital, resulting in the dead of 16 people with many injured , some of the 47 survivors recounted their experiences to The PUNCH on Wednesday .
According to 75 – year -old Kaka Mallam , a resident of Adam Kolo, one of the areas where the explosions occurred , he was seated very close to a mosque around 6pm when he began to hear the explosions and within some splinter of seconds , something hit him on his leg .
Mallam recalled that as he was about to crawl into the mosque, he felt something hit him again, this time , in his lower abdomen .
“ My neighbours from all around came to my rescue . They brought me to the hospital after the whole situation became calm, ” he added.
Kaka Mallam , a widower with 14 children , earns his daily bread from petty trading .
“ I came back from my petty trading and went straight to the mosque, did my ablution , waiting to perform the ishaa sallah before heading home ; then the explosions happened .
I sustained injuries on my leg and my buttocks . The governor came in last night at 10 pm and gave me N 50 , 000 ,” Mallam added.
Another victim , 30 – year -old Mohammed Umar , an ND student of Ramat Polytechnic in Maiduguri , was hit by a metal on his knee and cannot move his leg at the moment .
“ I was sitting down when I saw people running and I stood up to run , my left leg refused to move . I tried but couldn’ t move the leg; that was when I knew I was injured ,” Umar noted.
Death toll rises to 16
The death toll in the rocket attack on Maiduguri by suspected Boko Haram members has risen to 16 , hospital officials said.
The state governor , Prof. Babagana Zulum , had after visits to both University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital and State Specialist Hospital lamented that 10 persons were lost and 47 persons injured .
But on Wednesday , new facts emerged from sources at the two hospitals that the death toll had risen to 16 .
One of the sources , a nurse , said three persons were lost at night after the governor ’s visit.
The nurse , who spoke on condition of anonymity, said three other persons died on Wednesday .
She said , “ Three died before the break of the day and the three others died this morning ( Wednesday ) . ”
Zulum considers technology to counter insurgency
Earlier , the Borno State Governor, Prof . Babagana Zulum , confirmed that about 60 persons were affected by the rocket attack on Tuesday evening in Maiduguri , the state capital.
The governor said 10 persons were killed in the mortal attack by suspected Boko Haram on the troubled town .
A press statement , by the spokesman to the governor , Mallam Isa Gusau , said the governor was at two hospitals to sympathise with those injured in the attack .
He said after Boko Haram fighters fired shots from Rocket Propelled Grenades on parts of the town, 10 persons were killed and 47 other were injured .
He said most of the deaths occurred in Gwange . One of the RPG shots hit a children ’s playground in Gwange .
Gusau quoted the governor to have said, “ The solution is to deploy an appropriate form of technology , which we will have to work on . I share the pains of all those affected but we are not just visiting hospitals ; we do so much behind the scene in our combined responses to the Boko Haram insurgency and we will keep making these and more efforts .”