“I still wish that the events at St. Theresa’s Catholic Church on Christmas day, are all bad dreams, from which we’ll all wake up,” Alhaji Musa Sa’idu, the Hakimin Madalla said. But after he closes his eyes for about a second, he opens them to the reality of the moment, his eyes misted over. “This Boko Haram has done nothing but bring Islam a bad name.
We have been living in peace with our Christian brothers here, but they now see us as enemies,” he lamented. At last count, the death toll from the blasts had hit 43 even as the sect he is referring to claimed responsibility for the attack. Abul-Qaqa, spokesman of Boko Haram released a statement affirming what many already were guessing: “We’re responsible for all the attacks on Sunday.”
The cleric in charge of St. Theresa’s, Rev. Isaac Achi, confirmed the death of 43 parishioners and unidentified persons in the Christmas Day explosions at the church during a briefing on Thursday. He also said 73 others are receiving treatment in 12 hospitals in Abuja, Madalla, Suleja, Zuba, Kwamba and Kubwa. According to the list released by the church, 27 parishioners and others died; 73 are in hospitals. Of the 27, five are unidentified.
But Sa’idu told Weekly Trust that several Muslims were also affected by the blast. The Hakimi’s position was corroborated by the Chief Imam of Madalla, Malam Salihu Isa Madalla, who said he led a funeral prayer for one Isiaku Adamu Maradi, a water vendor who was killed when the first blast went off. “The funeral prayers of another Muslim who died in the blast, one Muhammad Lawan whose family has been moved to their home town in Bida was led by Malam Tukur as I had to attend other matters,” he explained, saying Islam does not permit the shedding of blood. “Even during war, the Prophet, peace be upon Him, declared worshiping places as shelters and should not be attacked. So are children, women and the aged, but look at what happened at Madalla. This is not Islam and it has to stop.”
Malam Muhammad Bashir, Chairman of Madalla Okada Operators Union told Weekly Trust that five of his colleagues were killed. “You know, some of us always go to churches on Sundays around closing hours to pick worshippers. So when the incident happened, we are able to recognize five of them among the dead, with some sustaining injuries.” he explained.
Bashir also said most of the relatives of the deceased and some other Muslim faithful fled town as a result of the attacks that trailed the bomb blasts. He also said an unknown number of water vendors also lost their lives. A policeman called Abdulkadir Danjuma, attached to church, also died alongside his boss, Inspector Titus Eze.
Unlike Eze and Abdulkadir, Constable Kaita Ibrahim was lucky as he only sustained an injury. He was hit by an object from the explosion while attempting to get to the main road.
Also killed was a teacher with the Model Secondary School, Suleja, and part-time student of the University of Abuja, Abubakar Jiya. Abubakar, according to the vice-chairman of vigilante group in the area Alhaji Umar Ma’aji, was in the wrong place at the wrong time. The same fate also befell Mu’azu Isa from Illeila local government area of Sokoto State. He was on his way from Suleja, where he sells fruits but never got to his destination in Zuba, as he also lost his life to the explosion.
Also, Abubakar Hassan, younger brother to Sha’aibu Abubakar, now a patient with Lukas Hospital, Madalla, is feared dead. Sha’aibu told Weekly Trust that they were both victims of the ‘reprisal’ attacks that trailed the bomb blasts. “We boarded a bus for Suleja, then the blast occurred. There was panic everywhere and we diverted to an alternative route where we ran into the protesters. They beat me seriously and dragged me to the police station with others as suspects. However, my brother was nowhere in sight. All attempts to trace him failed. They must have killed him.”
Witnesses told our reporters that there were sporadic protests that trailed the blast. Weekly Trust learnt that some Christians took to the street after the blast, beginning from the area known as Madalla New Site. The protesters allegedly took on the police first, destroying their checkpoints and setting them on fire. The checkpoints were mostly erected on Christmas Eve to beef-up security, and some of the policemen manning them had to flee. The protesters then launched an attack on the Hausa community in the area, destroying their businesses in the process.
Vice Chairman, Madalla Vigilante Group, who is also the Ward Head of Ma’aji, Alhaji Umar Musa Ma’aji Madalla, confirmed the incident to Weekly Trust. “One thing that the protesters should’ve understood, is that the attack was not carried out by Muslims in Madalla. In fact, Muslims across the country have disowned the sect and have been condemning their acts as un-Islamic.”
Malam Muhammad Rabiu, a security guard close to the scene, said there are some pure water hawkers, and those of water vendors among Madalla Muslims that lost their lives. He wondered why their Christian neighbors launched the attacks. “We are equally sympathizing with them,” he said.
Sani Musa, also a commercial motorcycle rider, said: “When we saw the protesters heading our way, we took to our heels and abandoned our shops. The protesters destroyed everything during their rampage,” he said.
The Catholic Bishop of Minna Diocese, the Most Rev. Martin Igwe Uzoukwu, pleaded with Muslims to address the challenge posed by Boko Haram to the nation’s security. “I call on all my peace-loving Muslim friends to condemn publicly this act against us. I call on all our religious leaders, traditional rulers and custodians of the land in Niger State to stand up strongly against this Boko Haram group who have claimed responsibility for this dastardly act against the good people of Niger State. Together, we will root out the evil that is coming among us. We all must put our hands on deck to take more proactive measures for the good of our people and our nation.”
As Nigerians ponder on a way out of the situation, fear of more reprisal attacks not only in Madalla, but across the country, is rife, especially with the recent attacks on an Islamic school in Sapele, Delta State. Across the South-East, South-South and South-West, security agents are being deployed to mosques and other places of worship.
Condemning the bombings, the Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Sa’ad Abubakar who was in Abuja along with other religious leaders over the matter, told State House reporters that members of the Boko Haram sect are evil. “I want to assure all Nigerians that there is no conflict between Christians and Muslims, between Islam and Christianity. It is a conflict between evil people and good people and the good people are more than the evil-doers.”
Story by Ahmed Tahir Ajobe, Abbas Jimoh, Adam Umar, Abuja & Aliyu M. Hamagam, Minna
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