Family escapes Kano riots, loses 4 daughters in Madalla blast

Posted by admin Kano, Latest Politics, Niger, State News Wednesday, December 28th, 2011

Abuja-based businessman, Sir Emmanuel Obiukwu, lost four of his daughters in the Christmas Day bomb blast at the Saint Theresa’s Catholic Church, Madalla, Niger state. The man fled with his family from Kano State and settled at Madalla, following the insurgence in that state, where they almost died 20 years later.

Sir Obiukwu, 58, was sighted by Daily Sun at the National Hospital, Abuja, looking despondent and shattered as he went up and down in the hospital, and finally stopped at a point where his kinsmen, friends and church members, who had come to sympathize with him were gathered.
Daily Sun, sought to know why the crowd was gathered and discovered that it was about the calamity that had befallen Obiukwu’s family.

Obiukwu, who was very emotional lamented that since the incident occurred on Sunday, they had to no avail, gone from one hospital to the other, searching for the corpses of his daughters after ensuring the admission of their mother and sister, who survived the dastardly act.

Chioma Obiukwu, the most senior daughter and a University final year student, Ifeoma and Uchenna Obiukwu, twins and Chidimma Obiukwu, he believed, had all perished beyond recognition since he said that he watched them standing along the road right at the spot where the blast occurred, as they tried to cross over to enter the car after the mass.
“Since I left Kano because of the riot, I have not been happy but I said, this is a free land these Hausa people cannot make much problem because they like to kill any how, but here is a unity place, no problem it is safe. As I left Kano that was what I had on my mind, but this is really from fry pan to fire.

“We went for 6 O’clock mass at St. Theresa’s Catholic Church in Madalla. The mass dismissed at about 8.30 to 9 O’clock, so families were heading for home.
People were at the road there directing movement; I was in front of the church. Suddenly, by then my children and my wife had come, I gave them car key to go and board the car across the road. I told them to cross over to the car so that I could wear-off my church warden dress and go to drop them before I come back to officiate during the 10:00am mass.

“So as they were going, they wanted to cross the road and while I was coming out, I heard a thunderous sound and since I did not know where the sound was coming from, I ran in and hid myself behind one of the pillars. See dust everywhere, but as soon as I recovered from the shock because I was not hurt, I looked out and saw fire, see all those cars coming out from the church were just burning. My children had not crossed the road. So they were there when that bomb blasted. Four of them, I did not see them up till now.

“After admitting my wife and second daughter here on Sunday so that we know their condition before we start looking for the other ones, after their admission, we started going round the whole hospitals in Abuja, after that back to General hospital in Suleija, we could not see any person. So, I told my people, all the corpse we saw, they are beyond recognition, even the ones here, (National Hospital) because majority are here and Gwagwalada, they are beyond recognition.
“So I went there checking one by one, people I saw, I couldn’t recognize them, that is how we have been going round and round, no one up till now. It was that place they stood to cross the road that the incident happened, my car was blasted, if you go there, it is still there, so that was how I confirmed that they might have been burnt beyond recognition.

“We have not been able to recognize anyone that even resembled any of my daughters. The one we wanted to recognize at State House clinic, that had the size of my daughter, they were two corpses inside, they said the owners had already identified them because their mother and the other one are inside the other apartment of the mortuary. Those two were in the second apartment. They said that their owners had already come to identify them, because all of them were evacuated from one car, they got burnt inside the car as family. So that was how we left that place,”
Asked if he had given up the hope on their survival since their corpses were not yet identified, he said, nothing was impossible with God “I believe that they are gone because of the incident there, that was my belief but I still have hope. If God by miracle raises them from anywhere, I will accept, but for me as a human being, I saw the incident there, I doubt. They are gone.

Obiukwu is bitter about the loss and pains inflicted on him and his family, not because he was questioning the powers of God over death and life, but because the bomb blasts had become a recurrent issue in the country and he had lost his daughters because nothing was done to stop the bombings.
“President Jonathan should do something better because this is not the first, not the second, not the third. I am sure that more are coming. Jonathan should wake up and know what to do, that is my candid appeal to him. He should wake up,” he said.
Expressing joy that his entire family did not perish in the inferno, the Awka-Etiti, Idemili South, Anambra State man, said that his wife’s health was fast improving, believing God also for the other daughter, Chiamaka. He is also thankful to God that he and his son were not hurt, considering the fact that some families may have lost everyone to the same or a related blast.

-Sunwp_posts