‘We prayed against death before the bombing’

Josephine Jacobson, a 63-year-old Deaconess of the Christ Chosen Church of God, said that Sunday’s suicide attack on the Church occurred just after the congregation had finished prayers against “untimely death”. 

Josephine who spoke at the Bingham University Teaching Hospital said that she saw the car when it rushed into the Church premises while she was sitting at the altar.“I was wondering who could be driving into the premises with such a speed but before I knew it, I just heard bang and saw that the roof of the Church had come down on us.“It was then that I realised we have been hit by suicide bomber.” 

According to her, the blast occurred just after the congregation had finished a prayer session against “untimely death”. “Actually, we have never prayed like that before. Our pastor had barely asked us to sit down quietly for his sermon, when the incident happened. It was by sheer providence that I am alive today,” the Deaconess said.

 Another victim, Mr Odey Randy, also said that he saw when the suicide bomber’s car entered the Church before it went off. “I was just passing by in the front of the Church on my way to buy something in a shop when the blast occurred,” he said. 

Randy , who was hit on his right leg, spoke at the hospital while waiting for doctors to attend to him.“I saw the car rushing into the Church. It was a Toyota Corolla saloon, but the blast went off just early enough to affect me.“I didn’t suspect that the car belonged to a suicide bomber. I just thought it was driven by one of the Church members rushing in to meet the service.”