YOBE SCHOOL BLAST: A RIVETING EYE WITNESS ACCOUNT

An eye witness who was there when the bomb that ripped through Potiskum and killed over 57 school children has regaled us what really happened at the scene of the happenstances.

Gov Ibrahim Geidam

According to the witness, 'an unknown suicide bomber, who detonated the bomb that killed students in Potiskum, was dressed in white shirt and black trousers which is the official dressing code for all senior students.' He said the bomb went off from the bag of a young schoolboy who walked up to the assembly ground after an unknown car left him at the gate of the school at about 7.30am. The boy was carrying a heavy schoolbag on his shoulder.

“Many of us sighted him as he was dropped off by the car and watched how he confidently walked up to the assembly ground pretending to be one of the students”, said the witness. “But unfortunately, he was immediately spotted by one of the duty teachers who noticed his odd appearance amongst other students, by carrying a bag to the assembly ground, even though the school is a boarding school.'

“The teacher on duty called his attention, asking him why he had to bring his bag to the assembly ground, but the bomber remained silent, ignoring the teacher. His attitude towards the teacher drew the attention of other students who milled around him to find out who he was. The teacher then moved closer to him, thinking he might be a new student on transfer since most of the students could not recognise him.”

'The teacher and some of the senior prefects, who were not satisfied with the impoliteness of the fake schoolboy, who continued to ignore the teacher, decided to force him to kneel down. “It was during the process of asking him to observe the punishment of kneeling down that the explosive in the bag went off and unfortunately killed many of the students including the teacher who had inched closer to the scene to see what was happening.”

The witness added that he survived because he did not go closer to the student, thinking it was one of those usually rude schoolboys that the teacher was dealing with. It was gathered that all the 72 injured students had since been referred to the Federal Medical Centre in Azare, Bauchi State, where the state governor, Alhaji Ibrahim Gaidam promised to foot all their medical bills.