Eyewitnesses say that members of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) Emergency Response Team (ERT) which rushed to the scene of today’s bombing at the St. Rita Catholic Church in Kaduna had to fend off a mob attack as they arrived to help the victims.
The suicide bomber crashed into the walls that fenced the church centre after his attempt to go into the main building was denied by security at the entrance. At least eight people were killed in the attack, including the bomber, and 145 were injured.
Parts of the church building and some nearby houses were badly damaged.
According to NEMA’s statement about the atta, the ERT officials escaped being lynched as angry youths in the community, carrying sticks, machetes and other weapons attacked the agency’s ambulances and other response vehicles. The rear side glass of one of the ambulances was destroyed.
Following the evacuation operation carried out by NEMA, Red Cross and other disaster management agencies, the injured were taken to various medical centers.
The Barau Dikko Specialists Hospital has the highest casualties with 4 deaths, as well as close to 82 victims receiving treatment, followed by the 44 Army Reference Hospital, with 3 deaths and 35 people on admission.
Garkuwa Specialists Hospital has 1 death, as well as 15 victims on treatment; St. Gerard Catholic Hospital has 14 patients, while Yusuf Dantsoho Hospital admitted 2 injured victims.
