One of the victims of Monday night’s coordinated explosions in Maiduguri, Abacha Mustapha, has shared his harrowing experience from the blast, which left him seriously injured.
Speaking from his hospital bed at Umaru Shehu Hospital on Tuesday, Mustapha said he was preparing to leave the market after the day’s activities when the first bomb detonated.
“We broke our fast and were about to leave after closing our shops when the first bomb detonated. I heard a loud sound, and suddenly my neck started bleeding,” he recounted.
The explosion threw the area into chaos, with traders and residents scrambling for safety. “It was chaotic. People were running in different directions. Some fell, others were shouting. I couldn’t even understand what had happened at first,” Mustapha added.
He credited his brother for saving his life. “My brother used his cloth to tie my neck to stop the bleeding before rushing me to the hospital. If not for him, I don’t know what would have happened,” he said.
Medical personnel confirmed that multiple victims were admitted with shrapnel wounds, burns, and other injuries. Eyewitnesses said the blasts struck at a busy time when traders were closing for the day, and residents were returning home after breaking their fast.
In response, the Nigerian Army warned of possible deployment of additional suicide bombers in Maiduguri, urging residents to avoid crowded areas.
The attacks reportedly killed 23 people and injured 108 others. Lt. Col. Sanni Uba of the North-East Joint Task Force said the bombings targeted crowded public areas to inflict mass casualties, affecting the Post Office area, Monday Market, and the entrance of the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital.
Borno State Police Command confirmed the incidents, noting that security operatives immediately secured the scenes. Police Public Relations Officer Nahum Daso stated, “The scenes were immediately secured, cordoned off, and subjected to thorough sweep operations by Police Explosive Ordnance (EOD) Unit Base 13 Maiduguri to rule out the presence of any additional threats.”
