At least 98 other students and teachers were seriously injured in the incident which occurred hours after Northern governors called on President Goodluck Jonathan “to declare a total war and eliminate Boko Haram in our midst before the 2015 elections.”
NigerianEye gathered that the teenager bomber beat the school’s security and joined the students and teachers who were about to have their prayer before detonating explosives strewn to his body at about 7.45am.
An eyewitness who did not want his name in print said that the bodies of “about 50, including three teachers, that died due to the attack were scattered on the assembly ground.
He added, “We heard a loud bang and since then the area was cordoned off but ambulances were seen going into the school to pick corpses and take the injured to the hospital.
“Both members of staff and students who were not hurt wept profusely as they struggled to rush the wounded to the hospital.
Jonathan, who will on Tuesday(today) formally declare his intention to seek a re-election in 2015, had shortly after the news of the schoolchildren’s killing, assured Nigerians that those behind the act would be apprehended.
Eyewitnesses said bodies of the victims were scattered around the assembly ground, while both staff and students ran helter-skelter to rush the wounded to the hospital.
Potiskum, the largest commercial town of the state, was thrown into pandemonium as many parents rushed to the school and other schools in the town to pick their children back home.
All the schools in the town were desolate as the pupils and teachers had fled.
Though no one has claimed responsibility for the attack, the blast is believed to be the handiwork of the Islamic fundamentalist group, Boko Haram, which has been carrying out a reign of terror in the North eastern part of the country.
A resident of the town, Ibrahim Ahmed, told newsmen on the telephone, "We heard a loud sound and since then, the area was condoned off but ambulances have been going into the school to pick corpses and take the injured to the hospital. Potiskum has been in pandemonium since 7.45am as a result of the attack on the school.
"I can tell you all schools in the town have been closed now as parents have gone to pick their children. There is wailing everywhere especially around the school where the incident happened."
The Yobe State Commissioner of Police, Markus Danladi, who confirmed the incident, said he was on his way to the scene of the incident and promised to give details later.
No comments:
Post a Comment