A suspended Boko Haram female suicide bomber attacked Gambouru Market in Maiduguri metropolis of Borno State on Friday, by detonating a hidden Improvised Explosive Device (IED) in a tricycle. Eight people were killed while 11 others sustained injuries.
The suspect, according to a member of Civilian Joint Task Force (CJTF), disguised as a passenger to board the tricycle before he detonated the explosives.
“We heard a loud explosion while we were at Giwa Barracks at about 7am Friday (yesterday). On reaching the Gambouru Customs area market, we saw five dismembered bodies with no hands or legs, while two others, including a motorists in a Honda car, was also killed by the blast,” said the CJTF member in a telephone interview yesterday in Maiduguri.
He said CJTF, and rescue teams of National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) and the Nigerian Red Cross (NRC) evacuated the bodies and took the injured persons to hospital for treatment.
The Borno State Police Command confirmed the incident.
Mr. Isuku Victor, the Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), in a statement said a female suicide bomber inside a tricycle detonated a hidden IED, after boarding the vehicle to an unknown destination in the metropolis.
He said the tricycle, which was in transit, stopped at the market area before the explosive went off.
On the number of casualties, the Northeast Zonal Coordinator of NEMA, Mohammed Kanar disclosed that eight persons were killed in the early morning explosion.
“I cannot give you the exact time of the blast but our men were called to offer assistance at 7am. We found six persons were killed, two of the corpses were mangled and beyond recognition.
“The impact of the blast affected three other vehicles, which happened to be driving past the tricycle at the time the bomb detonated.
“Eleven persons were injured, four were taken to the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital (UMTH), the seven others were taken to the State Specialists Hospital, Maiduguri to be treated,” Kanar said.
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