A man in Maiduguri, Borno State, has lost four sons in the multiple explosions that rocked the city on Monday, Daily Trust reports.
The blasts, which targeted the gate of the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital (UMTH), the Monday Market roundabout, and the Post Office area, killed at least 27 people and left many others injured.
Usman Lawan, a trader, recounted on Wednesday how his neighbor, Ba Musa of Gwange Sabon Layi, lost all four of his sons in the attacks. According to Lawan, the children were caught in one of the explosions while out buying eyeglasses for Sallah celebrations.
“We had just finished our Iftar, and I was pushing my fruit cart when the blast happened. I suddenly found myself at the hospital. I lost everything to that attack,” Lawan said. He added, “He had bought them new clothes and shoes, and they came to our place to get eyeglasses. The blast killed all of them. They were buried yesterday.”
A security guard at UMTH, who suffered injuries to his arms and legs, described the chaos: “I was sitting outside the hospital when three people arrived on a motorbike. I noticed something suspicious and asked them to leave. They returned, and when I refused to let them in, they threw a food container at me. It hit my hand and fell to the ground. I lay down and then heard a loud explosion. As I tried to run inside, another container exploded and hit my leg. The bomb went off outside the hospital like a palm tree. Many others died.”
A woman who lost her daughter in the blasts shared her grief: “We had just arrived at the hospital when the bomb went off. I fell, and my daughter was lifeless. Her head was injured beyond help. Her father died when she was five months old, and now I am left alone.”
Other survivors, including petty traders caught in the explosions, spoke to Daily Trust from their hospital beds in Maiduguri. Many were admitted at UMTH, Specialist Hospital, and Umaru Shehu Hospital.
The attacks have sent shockwaves across the city, highlighting the ongoing security challenges in Borno State.
