By Stanley Onyekwere
Following Wednesday’s deadly explosion at EMAB Plaza, in Wuse 2 area of Abuja, the capital city, traders and residents of the city are now living under fear as the attacks have spread siege mentality and believe that nowhere is safe in the city.
The blast that occurred at about 4pm in front of the gate of the busy plaza located beside Banex Shopping Complex, opposite Uthman bin Affan Mosque, just rarely two months after two explosions rocked the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), killing many and several others injured.
Peoples Daily investigations yesterday revealed that the mood among many Abuja residents after the third deadly attack on the city rarely within the space of two months, is that of fear of their safety, as what its pertinent amongst all is the uncertainty surrounding their survival in the city.
Both residents and traders who spoke to Peoples Daily, observed that of the three recent attacks in Abuja, the latest one has instilled fears in their minds as they now live with siege mentality in the city.
A resident, Ijeoma Ibe, says: “This is FCT, and if all these things can happen right in Abuja, the capital city, is not speaking well of Nigeria.
“When the first two recent deadly explosions happened in Nyanya, people say it was because it’s a suburb of Abuja, but now it is happening within the city. It then means that we are not safe in the city.
“Even as I’m talking to you right now, I’m becoming suspicious and scared of everyone around me, because I no longer trust anybody.
“Now, once I’m around people, I become scare of who they are or what they will do to me,” a businessman, Olaniyi Oke, said.
Recalling the latest incident, a sales girl in one of the shops in some Plazas in the area, said yesterday was terrible and horrifying; you needed to see how people were disfigured by the blast.
“They were very innocent Nigerians, just struggling to earn a living for survival, because majority of those that died were people hawking petty goods.
It has been 74 days since the school girls were kidnap in Chibok, Borno state by Boko Haram sect.
Another resident, Umar Yakubu, observes; “that if this could happen in the heart of the capital city, it only reveals that the federal government is having lapses in the area of security of the country.
“The security agencies don’t have the adequate equipment to tackle current insecurity threating the survival of citizens in this country.”
“Government should be able to put in more effort to tackle those behind this obvious evil called terrorism in the country, because these people are always devising various means of distorting the peace of the land.
“Mr. President should able to put adequate security measures in place, and when the government is working, they are doing every other possible thing to counter what the authorities are doing to stop them,” says a businessman, Peter Chinedu.
Peoples Daily reports that business activities around Aminu Cresent, where the Wednesday’s attack happened were shut down and movement restricted by security personnel in the area, which shop owners and traders, including residents there said it is taking toll on them.
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