One Week After Black Monday in Maiduguri, Police Headquarters Count Losses

By Bodunrin Kayode

As Maiduguri residents continue to count the cost of casualties from last Monday’s IED explosion, the Nigerian Police Command headquarters has said that one of its men, Sergeant David Samuel has lost his life in the tragedy.

The Command which has been very careful in the way the death of the sergeant was managed announced through their spokesman Nahum Daso that it has been established that a police sergeant serving the country in the state paid the supreme sacrifice after being inflicted with multiple wounds at the Monday market explosion.

Until his death, the tall Sergeant David Samuel was one of the guards securing the Monday market against insurgents who have a penchant for penetrating multi billion naira crowded areas like the Monday market.

Though Police Sergeant Samuel did not die on the same Monday evening the tragic incident occurred, he died two days after possibly due to the resultant injuries which led to excessive bleeding.

While many others survived due to the innate resilience of residents of the city to survive, Sam however died two days after the blast on wednesday last week due to what hospital sources described as complications at the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital (UMTH) were he was finally admitted after the blast.

Spokesperson of the Police Command who disclosed the sad news to this reporter noted that Sergeant Samuel had reported for duty that day not knowing that last monday would be his last assignment for his country.

“He actually died of multiple injuries not on the spot but in the hospital. The injuries in many parts of his body obviously led to complications coupled with the trauma which would have dealt a heavy blow on him” said ASP Daso.

Sergeant Sam who hails from Askira Uba is survived by his parents, siblings and family members and has since being buried at the Dala cemetery in Maiduguri after the church service held at EYN tanki

Maiduguri had witnessed a lull in such violent active by these criminals until recently when troops embarked on clearance operations dealt heavy blows in the insurgent hideouts inside the Timbuktu triangular and beyond.