Newsroom Exclusive: “How I became a victim, suffered government neglect” scribe to Bomb Victims Association of Nigeria (BVAN), Musa Audu, opens up
By Rotimi Akinola
It was the eve of a major democratic activity in Nigeria. The country was almost ready for voters to elect their lawmakers the following day.
Offices of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) were a beehive of activities. The men saddled with the sacred duty of conducting a free and fair election were finalizing preparations for the polls.
Unknown to INEC workers at Suleja, Niger State, suspected Boko Haram errand boys had planted explosives in the building.
No less than 16 people died after the bombs went off around 6:30 p.m. local time. Many others sustained life-threatening injuries.
One of the injured, the President of the Bomb Victims Association of Nigeria (BVAN), Kayode Olatunji, told a court trying the suspected bombers in December 2012 he “was shocked in the midst of dead bodies.”
Secretary to the association and another victim of the tragedy Musa Audu opens up to Newsroom on how the bombing changed his life forever.
“My story is just like any other survival story only that mine was among the early ones which happened on April 8 2011 at INEC office Suleja,” Audu told Newsroom.
“I’m a teacher here in Suleja. I went to INEC office as an ad hoc staff. I went to check my name and where I was posted to that Friday when I heard a sound which also threw me up to the floor.
“I was among those taken to Suleja hospital. We were later taken to Gwagwalada specialist hospital that same day about 7 p.m.
“I was the first person taken there. Another victim who was with me in the ambulance died on our way to the hospital.
“The doctors didn’t want to attent to us at first. They said we should go elsewhere because they had not been instructed to receive blast victims. But they later accepted me and started working on my leg.
“I was taken to their theater room. I was told that I sustained open fracture of the left tubular, nerve damage and damage of the left ear due to the sound of the blast.
“The state governor came and gave us N200,000 thousand each. I spent four months in the hospital and went to the theater five times throughout my stay.
“Along the line, we were buying drugs with our own money. We were told that the money provided by the government was finished.
“I had to sell my property and lands just to treat myself. My family members and friends also helped me out.
“In December 2012, INEC gave us a one-time compensation of N100,000. They said the compensation was made possible by Niger Insurance.
“Since then, we haven’t gotten anything from the government. We wrote tons and tons of letters to our state governor to no avail.
“The experience we went through during our time and the negligence of the government brought us together to form the Bomb Victims Association of Nigeria (BVAN).
“It was made possible with the help of human right campaigner Prof Chidi Odinkalu. He encouraged us to come under one umbrella for our voice to be heard. That was in December last year.
“Our association is now legally registered which Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) and shall be officially launched September 8, 2015, God willing.
“We intend to invite President Muhammadu Buhari and all the 36 state governors, and other prominent people in Nigeria to the launching.
We don’t need to be told what bomb victims are going through. We were victims ourselves.
“BVAN will be the voice of the voiceless and, if possible, handle issues of all bomb victims nationwide. We hope BVAN will be properly funded. We intend to work alongside NEMA and other relevant agencies.”
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