The explosions which rocked Bauchi market on Monday had seven deaths recorded, while 25 others sustained various degrees of injuries.
The public Relations Officer of the state Police Command, DSP Haruna Mohammed, disclosed this in a telephone interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN)
Six out of the 25 persons injured has been treated and discharged, while the remaining 19 are still being treated at the Tafawa Balewa Teaching Hospital (ATBUTH), Bauchi.
The report also has it that three persons were arrested for looting during the incident.
The police spokesman said that normalcy has since returned to the area through the efforts of the combined security forces, while security operatives has beefed up tight watch within and outside the area.
Mohammed also said that investigations had commenced to really find out the cause of the explosion and to ascertain the extent of damages.
The same yesterday also saw another blast at Gombe that claimed more lives was reported too.
Malam Ibrahim Mamuda, an eye witness and driver at the park, said the bomb exploded around 11 a.m. According to him, the bomb exploded in a Volkswagen Sharon car and before they realized what was happening, two cars were also burnt.
His words: “We started seeing human parts and blood everywhere, as you can see, there is blood everywhere.”
Malam Ibrahim Labibi, a commercial bus driver at the park, said he saw a young woman who came along with a boy and dropped her bag in the Volkswagen Sharon car.
“It was after she dropped the bag that the car exploded and I myself counted about 21 dead bodies,” Labibi said.
Female bomber disguised as a passenger –Witness
Another eye witness told journalists that the female bomber who disguised as a passenger took advantage of a fully loaded bus which was departing for its destination.
The source added that she kept a bag filled with explosives in a Volkswagen Sharon car, later left the scene and detonated the explosives from a distance, killing scores of people.
Those who died included hawkers while a couple of vehicles were burnt in the fire that ensued.
Police authorities in Gombe, capital of Gombe State said 19 persons died while 25 were critically injured. Confirming the incident, the Police Public Relations Officer, PPRO, of the state police command, DSP Fwaji Atajiri stated that the area had been cordoned off, adding that those taken to the state specialist hospital in the town were responding to treatment.
Violence in the North-East is escalating ahead of the February 14, 2015 general elections, with many concerned that voting might be impossible in large parts of the region.
Gombe was hit by a triple bombing blamed on the Islamists on October 31. The state shares a border with Borno and Yobe, two of the states worst affected by Boko Haram’s five-year insurgency which has cost more than 13,000 lives.
Boko Haram gunmen stormed Geidam in Yobe on Sunday, setting fire to several buildings and forcing residents to flee to the bush, witnesses said.
“They were chanting Allahu Akbar and firing shots and throwing bombs,” said a resident, Adamu Shehu.
“We spent a night in the bush but from afar we could see in the darkness flames and smoke coming from the town,” he said. Geidam is the home town of Yobe’s Governor Ibrahim Geidam and his home was also razed, witnesses said.
The attackers rampaged late into the night and reportedly faced no resistance from the military. While some people fled, others locked themselves in houses that were later torched and locals were going door-to-door to see if any lives were lost.
“Our town is a mess,” said resident Brema Umar, who reported that scores of people had fled overnight, many towards Yobe’s capital, Damaturu, 180 kilometres (110 miles) to the north.
Details of attacks in the remote region often take several days to emerge due to the poor mobile phone network.
Leave a Reply