Life has been tough after Madalla bombing – Victims

Madalla bombing scene

A first-time visitor to St. Theresa’s Catholic Church, Madalla, Niger State may find it hard to believe that the solemn congregation singing hymns to their creator are the same people that suffered a deadly bomb attack from the extremist Boko Haram sect on December 25, 2011.

The bomb attack, which claimed over 44 lives, damaged the church building and other houses in the neighbourhood. But from the look of things, the assembly has gradually recovered from the physical damage and psychological trauma of that attack. The dead have been buried, the church renovated and the bruised survivors have continued with life. Though the bomb attack occurred about 30 months ago, the members seemed to have put the tragedy behind them and are forging ahead with optimism and faith.

However, the congregation may not quickly forget that the Federal Government did not lend a helping hand to the church in its time of need. The parish priest, Rev. Fr. Isaac Achi, expressed the feelings of the congregation to Saturday PUNCH in an interview.

He stated that the Federal Government did not assist the church during its most trying time, adding that the some victims of the blast received only building materials from the National Emergency Management Agency.

According to the cleric, the government did not help those that lost family members, cars, property and businesses that were destroyed by the bombers. Achi said that the church struggled all alone to assist affected members spiritually and materially, noting that the rehabilitation of the bomb victims was a serious burden on the church.

Achi was full of praises for Akwa Ibom State Governor, Godswill Akpabio, who donated money to the church and the Central Bank, which gave N25m.

The cleric, however, said the church crossed many hurdles before it could get the CBN fund.

He said, “It is not been easy for somebody to see your house and church being destroyed. There are some people behind Boko Haram and we need to find out why they are destroying places of worship and killing people.

“Up till today, the government has not done anything to rebuild structures destroyed by Boko Haram or compensate those whose houses and businesses were razed by the insurgents. But the government is talking about amnesty for them.

“We have to see how we can compensate victims. Some policemen were killed, some went to work and didn’t come back, so why should the government be talking of granting amnesty to the perpetrators while the victims were given nothing?”

The priest stated that following the attack, a number of people relocated from Madalla. He noted that this had not affected the population of the church significantly because of the influx of people from Taraba, Bauchi and other states where members of the sect were active.

“A number of people that just settled in Madalla have joined the church. So, the population of the church has not reduced significantly on account of the relocation of some members,” he said.

Asked how he had been supporting the bereaved members of the church, Achi said that he had worked hard to encourage and build up the congregation spiritually through prayers and counselling.

“I have been doing everything on my own, praying for them and encouraging them to continue with their lives. We have rebuilt the church with support from the Akwa Ibom State governor and our own internal efforts. We have been talking to victims and building them up spiritually to the best of our ability.

“In every society where there is a challenge, it is a troubled time for them. But wey have stood firm by God. We are more prayerful and relying on God,” he said.

The cleric expressed support for the ongoing security operations in the North-Eastern part of the country, saying it marked the beginning of the end for the sect. He encouraged victims of Boko Haram attacks to be courageous and have faith in God even as he prayed to God to comfort them.

He said, “Everything that has a beginning will definitely come to an end; from Maitasine to Boko Haram, they will all come to an end. The prayer of every Muslim and Christian is that the security challenge will come to an end and Nigeria will have peace again.”

A member of the church, Godwin Asuquo, whose car was destroyed during the blast said he was disappointed by the Federal Government’s refusal to assist the victims.

Asuquo, a businessman, said he was yet to save enough money to buy another car, adding that he has been forced to make do with commercial motorcycles.

“I don’t understand why the government would not assist the victims, but it is willing to dole out money to the evil doers in the guise of an amnesty programme. My car was destroyed during the blast and till now, I’ve not be able to save money to replace it because things are not easy,” he lamented.

Emmanuel Ehikwe, whose building was damaged, also lamented about “government’s insensitivity” to the plight of the victims.

He said, “We have been left to our plight with nothing because we have not received any aid from either the Federal Government or Niger State government, whereas we pay our taxes as at when due to the Niger State government and we also contribute to the Nigerian economy.

“Our houses have been unjustifiably destroyed by some enemies of the state and we have been left homeless. Our businesses have since then collapsed and we are now living from hand to mouth, under the shadow of poverty that we have found ourselves due to no fault of ours.”