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UN Finally Names 21 Victims of Boko Haram Attack
By Damilola Oyedele
Thisday
15 Sep 2011
The United Nations System in Nigeria Wednesday finally released
the names of 21 casualties from the August 26, 2011 blast with
two casualties remaining unidentified.
The UN lost 11 members of its personnel in the blast which was
carried out by a suicide bomber. Boko Haram has claimed
responsibility for the terrorist attack.
A memorial service to honour the dead will hold Thursday morning
at the UN House in Abuja.
The dead UN personnel are: Mr. Abraham Osunsanya (Administrative
Assistant, WHO), Mr. Stephen Obamoh (Radio Operator, UNDP), Mrs.
Felicia Nkwuokwu (Receptionist, UN Common Services, UNDP), Mr.
Iliya David Musa (Receptionist, UN Common Services, UNDP) and
Mr. Ahmed Abiodun Adewale-Kareem (Shipping Assistant, UNICEF).
Others are: Mr. Elisha Enaburekhan (Driver, UNAIDS), Dr. Edward
Dede (National Professional Officer, WHO) Mr. Johnson Awotunde
(Monitoring and Evaluation Specialist, UNICEF), Mr. Musa Ali (Zonal
Logistics Assistant for North West Zone, WHO) and Ms. Rahmat
Abdullahi (Registry Clerk, UNDP).
A Norwegian, Ms. Ingrid Midtgaard, an Associate Expert with the
UNODC, is the only non-Nigerian who died in the blast.
The non-UN staff were: Mr. Sunday James Ebere (Shipping Agent,
Balast Agency), Mr. Ndubuisi Bright (Hospitality Industry
Consultant), Ms. Kate Demehin (Federal Ministry of Health), Ms.
Caroline Michael (Guard), Mr. Sunday Omelenyi (Guard), Mr.Yakubu
Garuba (Guard) and Mr. Abiodun Cyril Adeseye (Julius Berger).
Others are: Ms. Patricia Ekwetinge (Travel Agent), Ms. Joy Audu
(Nigeria Cleaning Services) and Mr. Paul Waziri (Nigeria
Cleaning services).
Addressing journalists Wednesday, UN Resident Coordinator in
Nigeria, Mr. Daouda Toure, disclosed that a total of 116 people
were injured and received treatment; 64 of them UN staff
members, 36 non-UN staff members and 16 persons yet to be
identified.
He added that 17 injured victims were evacuated to South Africa
(12 UN and five non-UN staff) for specialised treatment for
life-threatening injuries. Another five have been evacuated to
South Africa to save their eye-sights after their retinas were
damaged in the blast.
WHO Representative in Nigeria, Dr. David Okello, said the choice
of South Africa as treatment destination was not to discredit
Nigeria’s health system but rather to ensure that the victims
have access to facilities suited for their injuries.
He added that all the injured that were taken to the hospitals
in Abuja survived.
“Those taken to South Africa were in life-threatening
conditions, organs were destroyed: liver, spleen, kidney,
brains, and they were all put on artificial organs to help them
survive. They had to be evacuated by air ambulances and they are
all alive. In fact, two of them have been discharged,” he said.
Speaking on the unidentified bodies, the UN Chief Security
Adviser, Mr. Sorrien Scott, said there was a high possibility
that the victims were not directly involved with the UN in any
way.
He added that the register of those who entered the building on
that day had been cross-checked and every person who was in the
building on the day of the blast had been accounted for.
He dispelled reports that the investigations into the blast had
been taken over by the UN.
“The Nigerian government is conducting the official
investigations with its partners like the Interpol. We are all
cooperating, but the UN is not conducting any investigation.
What we are doing is to prepare an internal report of what
transpired to the UN Secretary General,” he said.
THE VICTIMS
•Patricia Ekwerigbe was a 2003 graduate of Mass Communication
from Auchi Poly. She was from Ishoko North, Delta State. She got
a job as a travel agent with Six Continental Travel and Tours in
2007. Her office was located on the ground floor of the UN
building.
•Joy Audu, 24, hailed from Okene, Kogi State. She had an OND in
Computer Science and planned to proceed to a university. While
awaiting her UME results she secured a job a job as a cleaner
with Nigeria Cleaning Services. She was the eighth of nine
children.
•Ingrid Midtgaard, 30, was a lawyer. She was the only foreigner
who died in the blast, and had worked at the Judicial System
Monitoring Programme (JSMP), an NGO in East Timor. She was due
to leave Nigeria before the end of this year.
•Musa Ali worked with WHO as the Zonal Logistics Assistant for
the North West Zone, based in Kano. WHO said “Musa’s excellent
performance contributed to the significant reduction in polio
burden in recent years”, saying that just before his death, he
had been elected Vice President (North West Zone) of the WHO
Staff Association. He left behind a widow and three children.
•Johnson Awotunde, 55, was with UNICEF as a specialist in
Monitoring and Evaluation. His work was critical for the
production, with the government, of the best facts and
statistics on the state of children. These are used widely by
aid professionals as they assess need and decide where to place
resources. He was from Iragbiji in Osun state. He left a widow
and six children.
•Edward Dede worked with WHO as National Professional Officer,
Routine Immunisation. His significant contribution to
strengthening routine immunisation, polio eradication and other
accelerated control of vaccine-preventable diseases was not
limited to Nigeria. Dr Dede contributed to several regional
initiatives. He left behind a widow and two children.
•Rahmat Abdullahi, from Kwara state, had tried to secure a job
with the UN for five years. Early this year, she joined the UNDP
as a registry clerk.
•Abiodun Cyril Adeseye worked with Julius Berger and was
assigned as a cleaner to the UN building. He returned from the
burial of his mother two weeks before the blast and was involved
in a car accident four days to the blast.
•Abraham A. Osunsanya was instrumental at WHO in boosting donor
confidence through strengthening the administration of
immunisation to save the lives of children. He left behind a
widow and two children.
•Ahmed Abiodun Adewale-Kareem was a logistician at UNICEF and
developed expertise on the safe importation of vaccines for mass
immunisation campaigns. The delivery of millions of doses
underpinned the success of immunisation campaigns. He was
married with two children.
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