IT was like a scene from a thriller, as an unidentified man yesterday drove a Honda Accord car at a maddening speed into the United Nations (UN) House in Abuja. The suicide bomber ignored all the frenzied attempts by security guards to stop him and smashed his way into the iconic building.

His car was loaded with explosives, which promptly detonated at impact, leaving in their wake an estimated 22 persons dead. The time was 10.40am. The impacts of the blast were felt on the four floors of the building built for the United Nations by the construction giant, Julius Berger, during the Olusegun Obasanjo administration between 1999 and 2007. The bomb severely rocked the main reception area of the building, shot right up and brought down the second floor.
The deafening sound and the accompanying tremor brought about commotion, as staff and visitors in the building ran for cover. About 1,000 staff are quartered in the vast office spaces. Emergency rescue teams, led by the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) immediately deployed to site and evacuated the victims using the ambulances to convey both the unconscious and the dead to the nearby National Hospital, which could hardly cope with the casualties. Other rescue teams included the Red Cross, Civil Defence, Air Force, Police, Army and Navy; the FCT Administration and the Fire Services. The Police Bomb Squads were also deployed and combed the area in case of any more explosives.

Minister of Health, Prof. Onyebuchi Chukwu, who was at the hospital to oversee extent of care for victims regretted the incident and commiserated with families of the deceased.
A doctor at the National Hospital told The Guardian that window loeuvers were even broken as the emergency teams rushed in victims adding that wards have been thrown open for relatives to identify victims. There was an unconfirmed report of earlier intelligence by the UN that the Abuja building had been a target, a report said to be causing a stir in the presidency.

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