As the smoke cleared from the New Road
Luxury Bus Motor Park, in Sabon Gari Kano, victims of the terror attack, who
were lucky to be alive to tell their stories, on Tuesday recalled moments
before the bomb went off. Most of the injured victims are currently receiving
medical attention at the Murtala Mohammed Memorial Hospital, Kano.
One of the victims, Mr. Emmanuel
Bassey, 37, who works at the Luxury bus park as a park attendant attached to
Ezewanta Transport, said he was hurt but lucky and happy to be alive. In a
telephone interview with our correspondent, (before hospital staff ended the
encounter), he was full of gratitude to God for sparing his life. According to
him, he and several of his colleagues were going about their normal duties of
attracting passengers to board buses for a commission when a small car with two
occupants came into the park. “I rushed to them faster than most of my
colleagues. I went and asked them where they were going and one of them said
they had yet to decide and that when they decided they would let me know. I
left them and went away. “But four of my other colleagues rushed to the car
when they saw that I did not succeed.
“As they approached the vehicle, the
driver sped off and headed towards some of the parked buses. Almost
immediately, I heard a deafening sound! Then a thick black smoke and fire;
there was confusion everywhere. I thank God I am lucky to be alive, my other
colleagues died.” He was not alone, Magawa Goje, 45, a retailer of dried beef,
popularly called Kilishi, also counted himself lucky. Goge said, “I sell Kilishi
(dried beef) at the Sabon Gari Luxury bus park. I was busy selling my Kilishi
to people who are getting on the bus when I heard a loud band and felt a sharp
pain on my chin. That is all I can remember before I woke up on this bed. I heard
people saying Boko Haram did this. Whoever did this will rot in the hottest
part of hell. Allah will surely judge them.” Meanwhile, traders in and around
the park have relocated into other areas of Sabon Gari as rumours of reprisals
continued to fill the air. Security has also been beefed up around places of
worship.
