Kaduna Blast – Police Absent On the Day of Attack, Says Priest

Kaduna — Last Sunday, a suicide bomber hit the St. Rita’s Catholic Church located at Angwan Yero in Kaduna metropolis, killing eight worshippers and injuring hundred others. Weekly Trust visited some of the injured victims, including the priest who was conducting mass when the incident took place.
The Priest of St. Rita’s Catholic Church, Reverend Father Michael Boni, has said that men of the Kaduna State Police Command, who were always around to provide security during service in the wake of attacks on churches, were not on their duty post when a lone suicide bomber attacked the church last Sunday.

The priest said police officers who for three to four Sundays had always been around the church for Sunday service were absent on the day of the blast which killed eight worshippers and injureed hundred others.
Boni disclosed this to journalists on his hospital bed during the visit of the Kaduna State chapter of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), to the victims of the bomb blast who are receiving treatment in various hospitals across the state.

“We only had the catholic cadets who secure the area on Sundays during service and up till the time I was taken to the hospital, there was no security men in the area, that is why I was surprised when I saw in some dailies pictures of security men at the blast site when they did not arrive early,” he said.
Reverend Boni said “we started our mass, and the rights of mass, we even got to the final stage of the mass when we received the Holy Communion and shared the sigh of peace. I moved to bring out the holy communion and at that point I can’t say what happened because there was pandemonium everywhere people stamping on one another to gain access to outside.
“So all I noticed was that I was drenched in blood completely, I thought at first that my left eye is blown off, because the eye was covered in blood and I could not see, but I quickly recovered as people came to my aide, they even asked me where my car key was so that they could take me to the hospital and remarkably, I remembered where the keys were and they brought me to the hospital,” he explained.

He described his survival as miraculous and maintained that he will continue to be the priest of the church for as long as he lives, because this experience has strengthened his desire to be closer to God.
However, when contacted on the issue, the Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Aminu Lawan debunked the allegations made by Reverend Father Boni, saying the police were present at the church even before the bomb went off.
“The Police Commissioner has given a directive that all places of worship should be covered in terms of security and we have been doing that and I believe that that day, the police were present at the church premises,” he stated.
He noted that the Divisional Police Officer of the area told him that there were police officers on duty on that very day.

Mrs. Veronica Ejuru, another victim of the unfortunate bomb blast, said she, four of her children and her husband where at the church when the bomb went off and one of her children was seriously injured in the chest.
She said they were in the Church when a jeep-like car drove into the church premises, exploded and destroyed the wall.
“Everybody became confused and started shouting, a lot of people sustained injury but the deaths recorded were not much, like only two people,” she said.
She lamented that the attacks on Christian communities is becoming unbearable, while calling on the government to find lasting solutions to the problem of insecurity in the state.
“It looks like we are stretching out our arms for peace, but some people do not want peace to reign in this country; we are calling on government and religious leaders to educate their members and even those causing the havoc, they should know that they sold their souls to the devil, because after this life, they will face judgment from God,” she stressed.