No fewer than persons were killed when suspected Boko Haram insurgents struck at the central market in Gombe, capital of Gombe state, around 5pm on Thursday.
A resident of the town said the incident happened when people were shopping ahead of the Sallah celebration.
“They planted bombs in a vehicle and another one in a very busy section of the market,” he said.
“The market is one of the biggest in the state and the casualty is certainly going to be high because people were preparing for tomorrow’s Sallah.”
A Red Cross official involved in the rescue operation said about 50 people were killed in the two blasts.
“I have 50 bodies in bags and I am sure there are more out there,” said the official.
Efforts to reach Fwaje Atajiri, police public relations officer in the state, did not yield any result as his phone rang out and the text message sent had not been replied as at the time of filing this report.
This is the first attack in the state since President MuhammaduBuhari came into power.