Wukari crisis victims still in hospitals with bullet wounds

From Yusha’u Alhassan Jalingo

Some victims of the rescent Wukari crisis are still lying at the Specialist Hospital, Jalingo with bullets in their bodies.

Our correspondent, who visited the Intensive Care unit of the hospital yesterday, where the victims were hospitalised, said many of the victims were still bleeding from gunshots.

One of the victims, Sani Ibrahim had five bullets in his body, while Sanusi Mohammed Sankera had a bullet concealed in his buttocks.

Commenting on the condition of the patients, the Chief Medical

Director of the Hospital, Rimande Ubandoma Joel explained that it was not in every part of the body that bullets should be removed, because in the process of removing the bullet, more damage could be done to the patient.

Joel said patients who still have bullets in their bodies were given professional treatment and necessary drugs based on what was allowed by laws governing the medical profession and urged their relations not to panic.

He said the acting Governor of Taraba state, Alhaji Garba Umar has mandated the hospital to do everything possible to save lives of the patients as medication were being provided, test, X-rays and surgeries conducted, adding that the patients were not to pay for any service rendered to them, as the government was footing their bills.

A refugee from Wukari Halima Sidi Umaru said they were forced by people, whom she described as illegal security operatives, to quit their homes unprepared.

Umaru, who has just fled Wukari to Jalingo, told our reporter that she had to leave Wukari because, according to her, they were not safe.

She appealed to the state government to deploy more security to Wukari to ensure normalcy.

Halima explained that youths were mounting road blocks at Gidan Adamu Village near Gyepi to harass passengers.

Another victim, Mohammed Lawan Abubakar, a driver from Gindin Dorowa village said, he had to load passengers at the Federal University, Wukari to Jalingo yesterday because security agents prevented people from boarding vehicles in Wukari town.

All efforts to contact the Chairman, National Union of Road Transport Workers, NURTW Jalingo by our reporter was unsuccessful.