Madalla bomb blast: 7 parishioners go blind

Posted by admin Headlines, Niger, State News Tuesday, February 21st, 2012

Barely eight weeks after the last Christmas Day bombing by the Boko Haram sect at St Theresa Catholic Church, Madalla in Suleja Local Government Area of Niger State, the Parish Priest, Most Reverend Father Isaac Achi, disclosed that seven out of the 83 injured parishioners have gone completely blind.

He made the disclosure on Monday when the Central Bank of Nigeria governor, Mallam Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, who led a team of senior managers of the bank, paid him a condolence visit and made a donation of N25 million to the church, victims and community members affected by the bomb blast.

According to the cleric, “Of the 127 victims, we lost 44, seven lost their sight, four are still on admission at Gwagwalada Specialist Hospital, eight at the National Hospital, Abuja while others are receiving treatment in hospitals in Kano, Zaria, Lagos and Enugu.”

Achi, however, said some of those injured had been discharged from the various hospitals in Abuja, Suleja and Madalla after being treated and certified to be okay.

In his remark while announcing the apex bank’s donation, Sanusi said the action was in consonance with the Corporate Social responsibility approved by the board of the bank, which allowed the management of the bank to show sympathy to victims of any form of disaster.

According to him, “it is in the light of this that the Committee of Governors of the bank met to offer assistance to victims, their families, widows, orphans and others whose properties were damaged by the bomb blast. This is to show that we can all be our brothers keepers.

“We wish to announce the donation of N25million to the church and the community for the rehabilitation of our people.’’

-Tribunewp_posts