Some of the lucky survivors of bomb blast that exploded on Friday, November 7, 2014, at the Automated Teller Machine (ATM) of First Bank, Azare, Bauchi State, had on Saturday, November 8, 2014, narrated their ordeal.
Sources said most of the victims were civil servants who wer on a queue to make withdrawals from the ATM before the device exploded.
Seven persons were reported dead whereas 10 sustained injuries and were taken to Federal Medical Centre, Azare where they are receiving treatment.
Recounting the incident, Mohammed Garba, a civil servant, said the bomber came to the ATM machine and joined the queue, a Vanguard report said.
He said, ‘’The bomber was not a female because I saw him; he was wearing white Caftan. He joined the queue, carrying something that looked like a bag.
“You know First Bank is usually patronized by many residents, particularly civil servants. There were like 25 customers waiting to make transactions. I was the second to the last person on the queue before the bomb exploded.
“When the bomb exploded, the whole place was covered with smoke and human parts littered the ground. I was lucky that I did not sustain injury. When I recovered, I quickly left the scene.”
Further speaking about the incident was an anonymous female student at the College of Education, Azare, whose colleague died in the attack.
She said, “ I saw Suleiman last on Wednesday. It was one of my friends who called to inform me about his death. I asked several people who confirmed that he was at the ATM when the blast took place”.
She further disclosed that some assailants had taken advantage of the incident to attack some residents of Azare.
Also, a survivor who pleaded anonymity revealed that most of the deceased victims were civil servants who were just paid and were at the bank to make withdrawals.
He said, “Most of the victims were civil servants because salaries were being paid and the queue was quite long. I just arrived the bank, not up to five minutes, when I heard an explosion that almost shattered my ear drums. I immediately started running for my life.”
The Bauchi State Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Haruna Mohammed, disclosed that five out of ten injured victims have been discharged, adding that investigations have taken its full toll and five suspects have already been nabbed so far.
