About 310 people have reportedly died of undisclosed ailments in Azare, the headquarters of Katagum local government area of Bauchi State.
In a letter written to President Buhari by Hon. Ibrahim Baba,
a former law maker representing Katagum who was deposed of his position by anAppeal Court in Jos, the former lawmaker alleged that there was “massiveoutbreak of coronavirus in Azare town and environs in Bauchi State, which hasalready resulted in over 100 fatalities in the last one week.”The Former law maker attributed the mysterious death toCOVID-19, saying the incident has “thrown the entire area into great mourning,panic and confusion.
Ibrahim in the letter indicated that the “centrality andproximity of Azare to Bauchi, Kano and some major cities of Jigawa State makethe town’s large population susceptible to the virus due to the alreadyexisting large cases of the disease in those areas.”
An independent verification conducted by WikkiTimes toascertain the authenticity of the claims made in the letter to President Buhariby the former lawmaker suggests, ‘mysterious’ deaths have killed about 310people within a span of 14 days.
Muhammad Muktar MK, a resident of Azare told WikkiTimes thata total of 310 people whom he described as “aged” have died in Azare in thelast 14 days.
Another resident, Salisu Azare said “of course what youheard is true, the deaths may be more than that even and most of them are withinthe range of 60 years and above.
“But no one would tell you what killed them for a fact, Ithink only scientific examination could prove the kind of ailment that killedthem, but we are really scared”, he said.
WikkiTimes recalls that a pioneer Chief Judge of the FederalCapital Territory, Justice Muhammad Dahiru Saleh, who annulled the June 12 election,was among prominent people of Azare extraction that died during the period.
He died on Thursday at the aged of 83 and was since buried accordingIslamic rites.
When WikkiTimes placed a question to the Bauchi State DeputyGovernor, Senator Bala Tela who is also the chairman of the state’s taskforceon COVID-19 and Lassa Fever regarding the actual figures of fatalities and theailment that killed them, Baba Tela debunked the reported figures, saying the numbershave been exaggerated.
“I don’t know the exact number of casualties, but what Ihave gathered is that about six persons die every day for a period of 7 days”,Baba Tela said.
The Deputy Governor also said about 7 medical healthpersonnel consisting of 5 doctors and 2 nurses have tested positive for thevirus in Azare.
Baba Tela said the ailment that killed the people in Azaretown were yet to be established by health workers in the state; “but we areliaising with the WHO and UNICEF to retrain our health care workers in Azare toboost their capacity to respond to the situation on ground”, he added.
The Deputy Governor also debunked the figures unveiled byHon. Ibrahim Baba who wrote a letter to the Presidency alleging that about 100persons have died of COVID-19.
“I’m sure he has not counted the deaths and he has not goneto the grave yard or had a conversation with people who buried the deaths, sohow could someone come up with figures just like that”, he insisted.
