The death toll of the Nyanya Motor Park bomb explosion that occurred on Monday has increased to 75, the Nigerian Minister of Health has said.
After a visit to various hospitals in the Federal Capital Territory where victims of the bomb blast are receiving treatment, Professor Onyebuchi Chukwu said that the government was doing its best to ensure that the victims were well taking care of.
Addressing a news conference in Abuja shortly after visiting four hospitals and the national blood transfusion service, Professor Chukwu said 216 victims were being treated at the expense of the Federal Government.
He assured injured victims that the government would continue to take care of their hospital bills and treatment until they would recover fully.
The Ministry of Health had yesterday put the death toll at 72 while the number of persons injured was 144.
The ministry’s official statement says 71 of these were brought in dead from the site while one severely injured person subsequently died at the National Hospital, Abuja.
During his visit to the scene of the explosion, President Goodluck Jonathan had described the blast as “unnecessary distraction that is pushing the country backward”.
He assured Nigerians that the issue of Boko Haram was temporary and that the country would surely get over it.
