Photos: Civilian JTF Accuses Borno State Government Of Neglecting Members Wounded In Boko Haram Suicide Attack, Call For Blood Donation

The Civilian Joint Task Force (CJTF) have lamented neglect of their wounded members at State Specialist Hospital, Maiduguri, by the Born State Government. LIB recalls that 12 members of the CJTF were killed and over 20 seriously injured in the July 11 deadly suicide bombing in Maiduguri. Two more later died at the hospital. Below is a report by Abubakar Terab on the wounded men...WARNING! The attached pictures may be graphic: The war against insurgency has suffered a big blow when the insurgents carried out targeted suicide attack on Civilian JTF on 11th of July at Molai Kura, where 12 Civilian JTF members were killed and about 20 of them were severely injured. When the injured were rushed to the State Specialist Hospital, they only met 3 nurses at the Accident and Emergency unit, the nurses were so overwhelmed in their attempt to stabilize the victims that 2 Civilian JTF members died there, due to uncontrolled bleeding. if not for the for the intervention of Red Cross vulunteers, more would have died, as most of them have lost so much blood. With the help of the Red Cross, the CJTF members had to mobilize their fellows, to donate blood to the victims. This incidence has badly demoralized the CJTF members, not because of the escalating rate of attacks, not because of the deaths, but because of the neglect of the ailing victims at the State Specialist Hospital by the Borno State Government. Since the admission of the Victims at the Red Cross ward of the hospital, no government official visited them, not even the coordinator of the CJTF Kaka Shehu Lawan, the Borno state commissioner for Justice, talk more of the governor, to sympathise with them or to offer them financial assistance. A CJTF member was lamenting, saying that if this kind of I don't care attitude by the government continues, he will henceforth only protect himself alone. Moreover, the Governor was advised to mount 95 Viewing Towers, each of which is not more than 300 thousand naira, for the insurgents to be detected at a far distance, but he refused stating that it's expensive. Despite the risks and sacrifices, there was no allowance to motivate the CJTF members since before Ramadan. They are quite by saddened, disappointed and demoralized by the governor's I don't care attitude towards them. The victims in need of blood are at the Red Cross unit within the State Specialist Hospital. We hope that the Governor and his team will live up to their responsibility and reach out to the victims and their families to offer support and succor. The governor also needs to review his stance on the viewing tower and facilitate their mounting, given the fact that the sum for the 95 Towers is not more than 30 million naira, if he is really committed to protecting lives and properties of citizens.