As much as we sympathize with the families that lost someone in the latest Jos suicide bomb blast, we are glad the intended 400 victims target of the suicide bomb did not materialize. A survivor from Saturday's viewing centre bomb blast that occurred in Bauchi Road area of Jos, Plateau State, on Sunday said the lone bomber targeted about 400 football fans.
The survivor, who gave his name as Muhammed Ibrahim, said over 400 youths were watching the finals of the EUFA Championship League match between Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid when the incident happened.
“The viewing centre is large. Television sets were placed at various points and it was crowded and in fact, over 400 of us would have been killed had the bomber succeeded” he said.
Alhaji Garba Ahmad, another witness who said he lost his elder brother, Bello, in the blast, revealed that the bomber had first attempted to enter the viewing centre but was prevented by a barricade erected along the road.
“He then turned back and tried to enter through a garage, but also encountered a wall between the centre and the garage,”he said.
Ahmad further revealed that in frustration, the bomber packed the car, a Honda Odyssey, in front of a house.
“When we saw the car, unusually packed in front of our house, my brother challenged him. He told my brother that his car had a fault and wanted to repair it. My brother then asked him to take the car away. Sensing something unusual I went inside and asked all the members of our family to leave the house. Just as my brother was persuading the man to leave our premises, he (the bomber) entered the car and immediately he started it. It exploded and killed my brother, his son and his friend” Ahmad said.
Some residents said the suicide bomber had earlier visited the viewing centre during the day.
Mohammed Suleiman, an official of the National Emergency Management Agency stated that the agency received a distress call at about 9 pm on Saturday and immediately rushed to the scene to carry out a search and rescue operation.
According to him, the blast claimed the lives of three people on the spot while another victim was found dead on Sunday morning.
Meanwhile, Ibrahim Hasaan, a member representing Jos North in the Plateau State House of Assembly, who visited the blast scene accompanied by Dr. Sanda Wakili, the Chairman of the Caretaker Committee of Jos North Local Government Area, said that the bombing which occurred in a Muslim dominated area showed that nobody was safe in the country. culled
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