Dr. Chinelo Megafu: One Death Too Many

When some passengers left the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) Station in Abuja for Kaduna last Monday, little did they know that that was the last time they would see their loved ones. So was it for many others who had no inkling that their limbs would end up in hospitals, from the bullets and mayhem inflicted by dare-devil terrorists who have turned much of Northern Nigeria into a living hell.

Though the exact figures of the victims and those on board may not be very clear yet, some facts have emerged:

• While the NRC released the trips manifest showing 398 passengers, initial unconfirmed figures said nearly 970 passengers were on board the ill-fated Kaduna-bound train, from Abuja.
• The terrorists attacked the train in the area between Katari and Rigina, leaving scores of people dead and many more injured.
• The terrorists were said to have mined the railway track with improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) which, upon activation, caused the Kaduna-bound train to derail
• After bombing the train to a halt, the attackers moved in and started shooting at the passengers
• The Police accompanying the train engaged the attackers in a gun duel until a reinforcement of soldiers arrived
• Many people were abducted by the attackers who took them into the bush presumably for ransom negotiation
• Obviously, the attackers were heavily armed hence the battle was fierce and the casualty figure very high
• No less than 16 persons were admitted at the 44 Army Reference Hospital, Kaduna, according to Sahara Reporters
• Sahara Reporters were also taken to St Gerald’s Catholic Hospital in Kaduna where, incidentally, one of the victims, Dr. Chinelo Megafu worked
• One of those taken to St. Gerald’s Hospital is a former Deputy Governor of Zamfara State, Mallam Ibrahim Wakalla whose state, ironically, has virtually been overran by bandits and terrorists
• Not less than 60 persons would have been killed during the operation
• Also reportedly killed is the Secretary General of the Trade Union Congress,
• As at now, many persons including the train driver remain unaccounted for

Understandably, the nation is in shock over the dastardly act by the terrorists. To many, this is one bombing too many. And while the loss of any life, at all, elicits extreme revulsion, that of Dr. Chinelo Megafu, the late staff of the St. Gerald’s Hospital has become iconic for several reasons.

The future had looked planned out for Dr. Chinelo Megafu, the dental surgeon with St Gerald’s Hospital in Kaduna. Chinelo a young medical practitioner was set to leave Nigeria to pursue her dream overseas.

But her dreams have died with her as she was one of the victims of the deadly terrorist train attack along the Abuja Kaduna rail corridor on Monday night.

Chinelo had died of gun shot wounds she sustained in the gruesome attack. Immediately after the attack which led to the death of yet to be verified number of passengers, she had tweeted to her friends, “I’m in the train. I’ve been shot, please, pray for me”.

And the above tweet might have been one of her last words as she succumbed to the colds hands of death. Her dream of escaping the country and starting a new life has been cut short.

The death of Chinelo has elicited widespread condemnation from across various groups in Nigeria. The Nigerian Medical Association issued a statement profusely mourning the death of Dr. Chinelo Nwando, a medical doctor who was among those killed when by terrorists who attacked an Abuja-Kaduna train on Monday night.

The association in a statement signed by its President, Professor Innocent Ujah also decried the worsening state of insecurity in the country. The Nigeria Medical Association (NMA) in its condolence to the family regretted the untimely death of the young promising medical practitioner. 

NMA in the message said “The President of the Nigerian Medical Association, Prof (Dr.) Innocent A O Ujah, FNMA, and indeed all Medical and Dental Practitioners under the auspices of NMA are deeply saddened by the tragic, horrific and preventable death of one of our members, Dr. Chinelo Megafu Nwando, who is reported to have lost her life from injuries sustained from gunshots when the train she travelled in from Abuja to Kaduna was attacked by suspected bandits.

“As an Association, we vehemently decry the worsening insecurity in the country which has made all of us and Nigerians as a whole vulnerable to violent attacks by hoodlums, bandits, kidnappers and terrorists who are currently having a field day causing us deep sorrows and severe pains.

“The untimely death of the young, promising Dr. Chinelo who served at the Kaduna State Dental Centre and worked with St Gerrard’s Hospital, Kakuri, while striving to earn a honest living is one other death too many. The Association notes that needless bloodletting and senseless loss of lives is fast becoming a recurrent decimal in our country, thus worsening the alarming effects of brain drain, which in many instances have been attributable to the worsening security situation in the country.

“The Association hereby calls on the security agencies to urgently reorganize the security architecture in the country with focus on intelligence gathering in order to avoid these carnages across the country”

In his reaction, Mr. Emmanuel Onwubiko, a Human Rights activist, described the demise of Chinelo as one death too many. Onwubiko, the Coordinator of Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) lamented that it is only a failed state would permit terrorists to kill at will.