An operative with a private security company attached to the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital (UMTH), in this interview with Weekend Trust, narrates how he stopped suicide bombers from entering the hospital during the last attack by insurgents in Borno State.
On Monday March 16, at about 7:21 pm, after Magrib prayer, multiple explosions occurred simultaneously at the Monday Market Roundabout, the Post Office and the gate of UMTH, which left at least 25 people dead and several others injured.
At the UMTH gate, suspected suicide bombers detonated IEDs concealed in food containers strapped to their bodies, killing at least five people on the spot and injured dozens.
Speaking from his hospital bed at the UMTH, Ali Musa Buba, 27 -year-old father of three and native of Izge town of Gwoza LGA of Borno state, narrated how his doggedness prevented the suspected suicide bombers from entering the hospital.
“As part of our job description, we are mandated to screen whoever enters the hospital, and we were taught how to respond to a crisis as well as how to stay safe. On my part, I pledged that I will dedicate myself to the job with all the seriousness it deserves,” he said.
He continued, “On that day, three people arrived on a tricycle, with one of them wearing a facemask, while the other guy was wearing a face cap, so their faces weren’t visible. They approached the gate at high speed, as if they wanted to force their way into the premises. I became suspicious and asked them to leave. They stared at me, frowning and reversed the tricycle. They made a second attempt, but this time followed a one-way route to enter the hospital. I rushed and crossed over to the other side and stopped them, and demanded to know why they were persistent in entering the hospital without proper screening.
“Two of them alighted from the tricycle, and the person with the face cap threw a food container he was holding at me. It hit my hand and bounced back and exploded. I lay down immediately, as we were taught during trainings, and the explosion affected tricycles and other traders selling fruits across the gate. An Almajiri boy was killed instantly, and a female colleague, assigned to be screen females entering the hospital, was also injured in the explosion.
According to Buba, as he was about to get up and enter the hospital, the other suicide bomber wearing a facemask detonated the bomb he was wearing, which exploded and killed him (bomber) instantly.
“When I saw him trying to detonate the bomb strapped to his body, I immediately lay down, but It still struck and injured my leg. I attempted to wake up after the second blast, but I could not. So, I was evacuated to the hospital and I was just reciting ‘Kalimatul Shahada,’ I never thought I wouldn’t survive. However, after I was resuscitated, and later realised the number of people that died and sustained various degrees of injuries, I gave thanks to Allah for keeping me alive,” he added.
The security guard told Weekend Trust that he had joined the organisation less than a month before the incident occurred. “In fact, I’m yet to collect my first salary when the incident occurred.”
Prior to joining the private security company, Ali Buba worked as a tailor and a part-time commercial motorcyclist in Izge, a village in Gwoza Local Government Area of Borno state.
However, the prevailing insecurity in the area forced him to relocate to Maiduguri to seek another job to enable him to feed his wife, three children and aged mother.
He said, “I only have a secondary school certificate as I couldn’t afford to go beyond that due to financial constraints. I have been looking for a job since then, especially in either the military or the police, but to no avail. However, when I moved to Maiduguri after fleeing my village, my aunt got me this job to at least feed my family until something better comes up.
Although the government has announced free treatment for all the victims of the blast, Buba notes that they still need additional support to be able to get back on their feet again.
“We are being treated free of charge, and prominent personalities, including the vice president, Kashim Shettima, Governor Babagana Umara Zulum, his deputy among others, have visited us and offered their assistance. But we still need more support, being breadwinners of our respective families, and now confined to hospital beds, we can no longer do extra work to complement the little we are receiving as a monthly salary.
“My main concern and plea to the government, especially the federal government, is to get a job after I recover from the injuries I sustained. My current salary is just N30,000, which is hardly enough to take care of my family of four, including my aged mother,” he lamented.
On the part of Malma Bulama Modu, a 53-year-old Porter at the UMTH, he got trapped in the bomb blast while reporting to work on that fateful day.
Modu, who sustained multiple fractures on both legs, told Weekend Trust from his hospital bed that, “I was on night shift that day and was on my way to work at the hospital when I heard a loud sound after the first bomb. I asked people around what was happening, they told me it was a suspected bomb blast. Before I could ask further questions, I heard the second blast and found myself lying helplessly on the ground, unable to move my body.
“I was gasping for breath because, due to the injuries, people noticed that I was still breathing. In fact, I gave up hope that I would survive because of the multiple injuries I sustained, in addition to other internal injuries I sustained on other parts of my body,” he narrated.
The porter added that although they have received assistance from the government, “to which we are grateful, but we still need more, because as I speak to you, I am still expecting some tests to be conducted before they could perform the surgery.
“But for now, I am in deep pain, so my main concern is to get back on my feet, to be able to take care of my wife and eight children.”
Malama Ummu Muhammad, a wife of the porter, said they suspected the worst had happened when the incident happened a few minutes after her husband left home.
“It wasn’t long after he left for work that we heard the sound of the blasts. We started to ask questions and became afraid at the same time, knowing that it came from the direction of the hospital where my husband works.
Immediately it was confirmed that it was at the UMTH. Our first daughter dialled his number several times, but he wasn’t picking up, so we started crying. We thought he was among those who died. We rushed to the hospital, and we were told that he was alive but had sustained injuries. However, I was not allowed entry that day, until the following morning.”
According to her, being a lower-class family, they are not financially stable, noting that their condition has been further compounded by her husband’s confinement to a hospital bed without a known date of discharge.
“Our prayer is for him to get back on his feet, because as the breadwinner, he has been on admission for over ten days now, and we don’t know when he will get better and be discharged. But we have left everything to Allah.
On its part, the Borno State Government pledged to shoulder the responsibility of all those who are being treated in the hospitals.
Governor, Professor Babagana Umar Zulum pledged when he visited the victims at the hospitals, describing the attacks as a sad disaster that will not occur again, assuring residents that the worst days are over.
“Insha’Allah, Borno State will not fall into the hands of Boko Haram again. I want to sympathise with the families of those who lost their lives and assure them that the government will support them,” Zulum assured.
“We thank the military, and we are urging the people of Borno State to remain calm as the federal and Borno State governments do everything possible to address the situation”.