This
year’s Eid Malud Festival was marred in Maiduguri, Borno State by a
bomb blast at the busy Post Office Roundabout in Maiduguri, Borno
State on Tuesday.
A lone suicide bomber, believed to be a member
of the Islamist militant sect, Boko Haram, carried out the attack which
eye witnesses said left no fewer than 30 people dead and about 50
others injured.
The attack which occurred at about seven hours
after eight people died in an accident on the Osara-Okene Express
Road, Kogi State, sparked protests by youths, who alleged that it
was traceable to politicians.
The angry youths damaged former
governor Ali Modu Sheriff’s office on Kashim Imam Way before they
left for the Government Reservation Area where they also torched a
building belonging to him.
It was gathered that the former
governor, who was still in the state as of the time the explosion
occurred, was hurriedly driven to the Maiduguri Airport en route for
Abuja. He was said to have been escorted by a well armed police team.
Soldiers fired shots into the air to disperse the youths before cordoning off the roads around the blast site and the GRA.
Investigation,
however, revealed that Improvised Explosive Devices were wired to a
vehicle and detonated at the roundabout which also leads to the
Monday Market, the busiest market in the troubled city.
There
were however conflicting reports on how the lone suicide bomber
arrived and detonated IEDs close to a roadblock mounted by the military
near the roundabout.
While the spokesman for the 7 Division of
the Nigerian Army Maiduguri, Col. Mohammed Dole, said the bomber drove a
Honda car, Reuters said he arrived at the area in a tricycle laden
with IEDs.
Dole, who blamed the attack on Boko Haram, said,
“At about 14:13 hours on Tuesday, January 14, a Honda car laden with
IEDs exploded near the Post Office area in Maiduguri metropolis. Members
of the frustrated Boko Haram terrorists are suspected to be behind the
bomb explosion.
“Many deaths and injuries were recorded and 10
vehicles and five tricycles are confirmed damaged and one suspect is
arrested. This incident happened after a long period of relative peace
in Maiduguri and environs.”
But the state Police Commissioner, Lawan Tanko, told Reuters that his men counted 17 bodies as of 2pm on Tuesday.
“My
men counted 17 dead persons as of 2pm and they are still counting. I
instructed my men to go to the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital
and the Specialist Hospital in Maiduguri to verify if there are
others,” Tanko added.
Tanko confirmed that the explosion was
caused by a suicide bomber who drove a firewood seller truck and
detonated a bomb in the middle of the road.
Tanko, who claimed
that only five people were injured, added that security operatives
were immediately sent to public buildings to prevent attacks on
them by the rampaging youths.
A journalist working at the state
television office, Abba Kankami, also told the British news agency that
he counted 29 dead bodies.
“The attack happened just behind the
fence of my office. I counted 29 bodies, including two kids and a
mother. Lots of others seriously injured,” he said.
However,
health workers claimed that 30 bodies were deposited at different
hospital mortuaries in the city. They added that 50 injured persons were
also brought in.
Another eyewitness, Aisha Hassan, said she saw two boys whose bodies were cut into pieces.
Hassan,
who added that two cars immediately caught fire when the explosion
happened, said, “I ran away because there was too much blood.”
A
source told one of our correspondents that operatives who rushed
to the scene of the blast which occurred at about 1.30pm, evacuated
the injured and the dead to the hospitals.
When contacted,
the Director of Defence Information, Maj.-Gen Chris Olukolade, also
confirmed that security operatives had arrested a suspected insurgent
in relation to the explosion.
He said the suspect was already assisting a team investigating the incident.
The
state Governor, Kashim Shettima, condemned the blast, saying it
was regrettable it happened at a time people were enjoying the
return of peace to Maiduguri.
In a statement by his spokesman, Isa Gusau, Shettima expressed condolences to the families of those who lost their lives.
The
statement reads in part, “He (governor) has directed the security to
carry out a full scale investigation into the bomb explosion which
resulted in the unfortunate youths’ rampage that led to the breakdown of
law and order.
“The governor also condemned the uprisings in the
last three days in the state capital which he described as unfortunate
even though avoidable.”
He also said that the governor had
directed the Ministry of Health to ensure that all the injured
received proper medical attention.
The statement added that the
governor had met with the National Security Adviser in Abuja on
issues of security of lives and property in Borno State.
The
governor appealed to all the residents of the state to remain law
abiding and reminded them that peace was a collective duty of all.
In
Kogi State, an accident involving a Toyota Hiace bus, a trailer and a
truck claimed the lives of eight people on the Osara-Okene Express
Road at about 6.30am on Tuesday.
The Police Public Relations
Officer, Kogi State Command, Mr. Redengha Tampa, said the trailer
collided with the truck and the bus.
All the dead were said
to be the bus passengers. Two other occupants of the bus, who
sustained injuries, were rushed to Abobo Clinic, Itakpe, for
treatment.
The corpses were taken to the mortuary of the Federal Medical Centre, Lokoja.
