A resident of Rukubi where a bomb exploded earlier this week has said the death toll in the bomb explosion in the town has now risen to 56 while the cause of the blast was unknown.
A resident of Rukubi which is a border area between Nasarawa and Benue States Mallam Haruna Bawa who was at the scene of the bomb explosion said he counted more than 54 lifeless bodies, including four of his brothers who were affected.
In an interview with Saturday Vanguard in Lafia, Malam Bawa, who was also at Dalhatu Araf Specialist Hospital, Lafia to attend to his injured brother said he rushed to the scene of the explosion after hearing a loud noise accompanied by thick smoke from the area.
According to him, “some of the people who died in the attack were butchers who were invited to slaughter the cows that fell ill while in detention in order to avoid wasting the cows”.
The spokesperson of the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria, Tasi’u Suleman, said: “at least 54 people died instantly while the injured were many.”
Another victim of the bomb explosion, Malam Usman Bawa, who was receiving medical treatment at the Dalhatu Araf Specialist Hospital, Lafia, said the attack was “unprovoked”.
He recounted that residents of the area had come out in large numbers from their homes in Rukubi community to offload their cows on arrival from Benue State where the animals had been held for days as a result of violation of the state government’s anti open-grazing laws.
