Ex-gov Yari pays hospital bills as NEMA visits victims following Zamfara explosion

The National Emergency Management Agency on Wednesday deployed its Search and Operations team to the Usmanu Danfodio University Teaching Hospital, Sokoto State to assess the humanitarian situation of the victims of the explosion that occurred at the Chemical Market in Talata-Mafara in Zamfara State the previous day.

Reporters recall that the explosion, on Tuesday, was triggered by the careless disposal of a cigarette remnant on gunpowder, leading to a massive fire. The explosion resulted in significant damage, affecting 50 individuals with varying degrees of injuries.

In a post on its Facebook page on Wednesday, NEMA disclosed that “three fatalities had been recorded”, while “46 injured persons were receiving treatment at the Usman Danfodio Teaching Hospital due to the severity of their conditions.”

The team confirmed that victims were being treated in different hospital divisions, including the Orthopaedic ward, Surgical unit, ICU burns unit, and ENT division.

Meanwhile, a former Governor of Zamfara State, Senator Abdul Aziz Yari, has promised to pay all the medical expenses for the 50 explosion victims.

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Speaking to newsmen in Talata-Mafara on Wednesday, the Zonal Coordinator of Senator Yari Constituency Office, Alhaji Sha’aya’u Sarkin Pawa, said the lawmaker had promised to continue paying for the medical bills of the affected persons until they were discharged from the hospital.

Sarkin Pawa said it was the former Zamfara Governor who directed the immediate evacuation of all the victims to the Usmanu Danfodiyo University Teaching Hospital, Sokoto, for proper and adequate treatment.

He said, “As I am speaking to you, following the directives, we have evacuated over 50 victims to the Usmanu Danfodiyo University Teaching Hospital, Sokoto, for urgent medical attention.

“We are going to pay for all their medical bills as directed by Senator Yari.”

“We express gratitude to Allah for the early response by the security agencies and volunteers for calming the situation and bringing it under control.”

The Chairman of the Talata Mafara LGA, Alhaji Yahaya Yari, had earlier confirmed the death of two persons with 42 hospitalised, following the incident.

He said, “Two victims of the explosion have died in the hospital while 42 are responding to treatment.”

The Commissioner of Police, Mohammed Shehu Dalijan, said the Police Anti-bomb Squad was studying what happened.

He said, “We are trying to gather what happened from the scene of the incident to professionally ascertain the cause of the explosion.”