The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on Thursday, 7th April, 2011 asked all those who applied for adhoc job for Saturdays (April 9th) National Assembly election to assemble at its offices in the state where the names of successful applicants would be displayed.Most of those who applied for the INEC job were serving Youth Corps members and some others who only a month ago completed their national service. This category of ex-corps members took part in the registration of voters exercise as adhoc staff for the commission and were again considered for the election duty having performed diligently.The applicants in line with the directive stormed the INEC office located at Kwamba area of Suleja to check their names on a make-shift board, where the commission had displayed the list.While the crowd milled around the board it was said that a man just walked into the premises, lifted the board from its original position to a new place and walked away without being challenged.The man, whose identity is still unknown, was said to have sauntered to a Honda car he had parked just outside the INEC office and drove away.Not quite five minutes after the unknown man that changed the position of the board had driven off, an explosion occured killing most of those checking their names on the board.A female Youth Corp member had her body severed into two by the explosion while many others had their limbs cut off from their bodies. Human parts littered the ground, just as coagulated blood could be seen in patches on the ground.Initial count put the number of the dead at 25 and 30 injured but both the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, Professor Attahiru Jega, and the Director General of the National Youth Service Corps, Brigadier General Tsiga, put the casualty rate at 13, seven of them corps members while another 35 victims were at different hospitals in and outside Niger state receiving treatment.The duo had embarked on unscheduled visits to the INEC office in Suleja to see things for themselves.Tsiga did not hide his annoyance with those that carried out the dastardly act and, therefore, called for capital punishment to be meted out to the perpetrators when apprehended.Aminu Mojeed, 26-year-old graduate of Computer Science from the Osun State Polytechnic and Amadi Ikechukwu Francis, 31-year-old graduate of Imo State University, who survived the blast corroborated the story of how the blast took place.The duo, like others, had gone to check their names on the board to see if they were lucky to get posted as officials for the National Assembly election.According to Aminu Mojeed, the notice board was the major centre of attraction for people, mostly corps members, who were in their hundreds. Just when he was about leaving the first notice board to the second board, the blast took place.I was approaching the second notice board after leaving the first one when I heard the loud explosion. I am sure the explosion came from the second notice board as I was greeting a friend, the sound from the explosion came from the direction of the board which I was going to.He said immediately he heard the loud bang, he ran away from the place, jumped over the fence to safety.Amadi Ikechukwu Francis, the 31-year-old graduate of Imo state University corroborated the account of Aminu when he said I noticed that the blast came from the direction of the notice board where most of the corps members were gathered.Medinatu Hamza, a graduate of the University of Calabar and her sister, whose name was not given, were among those that went to check their names on the board.The elder sister, who initially cooperated with the media was later prevailed upon to stop talking because what has happened has happened and no one can change destiny.The woman, before being forced to stop talking, had said the two sisters were together at the INEC office to check their names on the board, only the unnamed one came back home, the other died.Sixty-five-year-old Julius Akande, a retired automobile mechanic who resides in the Kwamba area of Suleja with his children would have allowed three out of his four children to go to the INEC office to check their names on the notice board but for the advice given by one of the daughters, Victoria.As if Victoria, 29, graduate of Office Technology Administration from the Federal Polytechnic Bida had the premonition of what would happen, she advised that it was unwise for all of them to go to the INEC office when other jobs were begging for attention at home.She, therefore, opted to go and check the board and return with information either negative or positive. She never made the trip back as she was among those killed by the explosion.Narrating the last moments of her daughter to people who came to commiserate with him and his wife, Juliana, Mr Julius Akande, from Edo State recalled in tears that My daughter left home to check her names at the INEC office, when she got there; she was told to check back as the names of adhoc staff for Saturdays elections were yet to be displayed. She then resolved to stay with a friend around INEC office and later went back to check her name and never returned back.We communicated with her last at about 6:10 pm, (Friday) when she called to brief her siblings that she was at the INEC office and that their names were on the list and since then we never heard anything from her. When I heard of the blast in the town, I called my wife to know if the children were all at home, but she told me that only Grace and Helen were at home. Efforts to locate Victoria failed to yield result.Julius said that he checked all hospitals that victims were rushed to, including the General Hospital , but was not lucky. He had to resign to fate by 8.00 pm on Friday.At Suleja Hospital, Julius lamented that the nurses did not allow him to get into the wards to look for his daughter. I dont know if the nurses knew that my child was dead; they did not allow me to enter the wards or go to the mortuary. This made me to send some of my people to go to the mortuary and check if my daughter was among the dead.It was about 7:00 am on Saturday, the day of the election, that the sad news was broken to Julius Akande.I was told that they found my daughter among the dead. The dream and the vision I had for her just disappeared. I found myself naked.Men of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), Police and those of the Federal Road Safety Corp (FRSC), had hectic time handling the disaster and the huge crowd that flooded the INEC office to ascertain the condition of their wards.The Suleja General Hospital became too small to handle the large human casualty and manage the large number of the injured resulting in many of the victims being transferred to either the General Hospitals at Wuse or the Specialist hospital at Gwagwalada.In its first reaction to the incident the Niger state government, through the Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Dr Mohammed Kuta Yahaya, described it as unfortunate and a sad development as enemies of democracy are at work.Governor Muazu Babangida Aliyu said the incident was perpetrated by those he called terrorists who were bent on scaring away people from voting in the National Assembly election.Former Military President, General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida, in his reaction said, It is unfortunate; it shouldnt happen. But I am happy that the people are determined; they have not been intimidated and they will do their civic responsibility.General Babangida, however, said the incident should not be blamed on the security operatives because people planning such incident would not announce it.The security system is good. I think it is your mind, my mind, our mind that should be corrected, adding that the media should carry out more enlightenment programmes for the public on the need for them to be patriotic.On his part, General Abdulsalami Abubakar said the incident in Suleja was very unfortunate. Nigerians should stop killing themselves. There was no point for that, very stupid action. What did they want to achieve by that bomb blast, Nigerian killing Nigerians for whatAbdulsalami urged the security agencies in the state and the country to get to the root of the matter and bring the culprits to book.No one or group has claimed responsibility for the sad event, even as the police were yet to arrest anyone in connection with the incident, according to the state police spokesman, ASP Richard Oguche Adamu.
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