Jonathan Leaves for Brazil as Crisis in Kaduna, Yobe intensifies; death toll rises to 74

Even as violence continues to breed its ugly head in Kaduna State and fresh attack in Yobe, the Damaturu state capital, Jonathan is set for yet another oversea trip to Brazil city of Rio de Janeiro to take part in the United Nations Earth summit, an annual event. Jonathan will be at the Rio Centro Convention Center on Wednesday and Thursday to participate in the the summit’s four plenary sessions. Thereafter, he will also be meeting with the Brazilian President who will be hosting the Heads of Government at the summit. The President will be making the trip with his wife, Patience; Governors Ibrahim Shema and Seriake Dickson of Katsina and Bayelsa states respectively. Other people who may be joining the President’s entourage are the Ministers of Environment, Mrs Hadiza
Ibrahim Mailafiya; Water Resources, Mrs Sarah Ohekpe; Trade and Investment, Mr. Olusegun Aganga; and Senator Benedict Ayade. However, while the President will be away in Brazil, security forces will be working tirelessly to ensure that peace returns to the troubled Northern region, especially in Kaduna where it was confirmed that death toll as a result of the reprisal attacks has risen to 74 . Officials of the Red Cross said that over 140 victims of the attacks had been taken to hospitals for medical attention. Meanwhile, soldiers and other security men were seen in Kaduna patrolling along the streets, while trying to quail further outbreak of violence. Also in Damaturu, the Yobe State capital, it was reported explosions and gunshots rocked the city on Monday. It was reported that gunshots and bombing started at the Sabon Pegi area of the city in the evening when some Boko Haram militants struck to take over the government house and Potiskum prison in order to release some inmates. An unconfirmed report says that the gunmen attempted to take over the government house, and the Potiskum Prison. Channels TV reports that the Joint Task Force Commander in the state, Col. Dahiru Abdulsalam, said his men had moved into the town and the situation had been brought under control. Our correspondent on Monday reported that hundreds of Kaduna residents besieged various hospitals in the state in search of their relatives caught in the attacks. Medical personnel and workers at the St. Gerard Catholic Hospital and the Barau Dikko Specialist Hospital, reports say had hectic time treating scores of people that sustained various degrees of injuries even as they coped with worried relatives in search of their loved ones. Spokesman for the St.Gerard Catholic Hospital, Mr. John Ali, said that the number of victims who died in the hospital had risen to 39 while those who sustained injuries and were being treated in the hospital were 72. Ali said the corpses had been evacuated by the state government. A source who did not want his name mentioned told our correspondent at the Barau Dikko Specialist Hospital that 12 deaths were recorded while two others were receiving treatment in the hospital. At ABUTH, a worker who did not want his name in print said the number of dead victims at the hospital was 32. Suleiman Mani, a 20-year-old wood cutter, said he was cutting firewood when a resident of the area told him to leave the work and go away because the town was not safe. Narrating how he was attacked, Mani said, “They hit me again and I fell down. The wanted to cut my head but the machete landed on my hand as I tried to protect myself. They carried a big stone and wanted to drop it on my head, but one woman who is also my customer came to intervene as I lay on the ground. “They wanted to beat her but one man came and intervened and they took me on a bike to this hospital.” Another victim, Aliyu Musa, 27, who is a commercial motorcyclist, said he was attacked at the Sabon Tasha area of the state. “I just dropped a passenger and I was going back when I saw some people stopping motorbikes. They stopped many of us and asked us to lie down and started beating us and smashing blocks on us. “They said that they will kill us because Boko Haram is killing Christians. They beat me so much that I became unconscious. I don’t even know how I got here,” he said A photo journalist with Daily Independent Newspaper, Mr. Nathaniel Jibrin, said, “My colleague from Thisday newspaper called me that there was bomb blast in Trikania, and that he was going there to take pictures. It was not long I closed from the Church, so immediately I picked a commercial motorcycle and headed for the place, but somewhere within the area, some people stopped us. “I cannot remember what they were saying, all of a sudden I found myself on the ground, with blood flowing all over my body. It was two good Samaritans that brought me to this hospital. Thank God I am getting better.” Meanwhile, tension rose in the Kaduna metropolis on Monday as the state government relaxed the 24 hours curfew imposed on the state following the outbreak of violence on Sunday. “I am rushing home right now. The Hausa people seem to have mobilised for a fight. Please I have to rush home before they start burning and killing,” a resident said. Please do not hesitate to leave your opinion in the comment section below.