'How I died twice with my only child' - mother of Nyanya bomb blast victim tells her story

A woman, madam Grace Omokoro Joe whose only child was killed in the Nyanya bombing narrated  the untimely death of her only  child who was to resume his first ever work on the said date in Abuja. The woman has been going through tough times since she lost her son. She fainted when she saw her son’s dead body at the park, and fainted the second time when the second bomb blast occurred. Right now, her only brother has relocated her from Nyanya since she can no longer stand the trauma.

Madam Grace spoke at a protest staged by the Nigerian Women in Clergy on Friday, under the leadership of Prophetess Nonie Roberson. The clergy women had used the protest to create a forum to target post traumatic syndrome among people they have identified as ‘forgotten victims’ of the bomb blast. Continue..

Narrating her horrible experience, the woman whose husband is also late said on the fateful day, her only child, Joel Olukayode, a graduate of Federal University of Technology, Minna was to resume his first temporary job in Abuja town. She said " on the fateful morning, we had our morning devotion and I asked my Son to take at least a cup of tea, but he said he was okay, and I gave him my blessing. After 10-15 minutes that he left, the blast went off. I went outside to check if he was still there, but I didn't see him, so I quickly ran to the park, and on getting there, I saw my Son on the ground, dead.  That was the last thing I could remember. He was my only child, and I guess, I died momentarily with him and I died the second time, but God says, there is still time."

Also narrating how they have been coping with the trauma of the blast, Mr. Balogun, brother to the bereaved woman said it was not easy going from one Mortuary to the other, checking all dead bodies of the victims of the blast before they could identify the body of the late Juel Olukayode, a 29 year old graduate of Chemical Engineering. He said "When she fainted, the body was taken away. So, when she was revived, we had to go to almost all hospitals in Abuja where bodies were deposited, looking for Joel's body, before we finally got it. The trauma of looking at almost all dead bodies deposited in various hospitals can better be imagined." Balogun said.

Please, this woman and many others need help.  Well-meaning Nigerians and the government are to join this campaign.

Written by Adoyi Ali