Blast kills dozens in Maiduguri

Dozens of people were killed in Maiduguri yesterday in unrelenting attacks by Boko Haram insurgents in Borno State.About 35 others sustained injuries when a suicide bomber disguised as a herbalist detonated explosives strapped to his body, witnesses and hospital sources said.However, as many as 50 people were killed, Reuters reported quoting eyewitness and a hospital […]

Dozens of people were killed in Maiduguri yesterday in unrelenting attacks by Boko Haram insurgents in Borno State.
About 35 others sustained injuries when a suicide bomber disguised as a herbalist detonated explosives strapped to his body, witnesses and hospital sources said.
However, as many as 50 people were killed, Reuters reported quoting eyewitness and a hospital source.
Lawal Kawu, a paramedic, told Reuters 31 charred bodies had been evacuated to the teaching hospital in Maiduguri, and several other people were brought in with severe injuries.
“It shook our school building and I had to run away. I saw military vehicles with soldiers moving toward the area,” Abubakar Mohammed, a college student few meters away from the blast scene told Reuters.The Commissioner of Police in the State Aderemi Opadokun put the death toll at five. He told reporters in Maiduguri: “A suicide bomber, who was shouting “Sai Buhari”, and dancing in the abattoir, detonated Improvised Explosive Device strapped on his body when people had gathered around him.
“Five people, including himself, died, while eight others sustained injuries.”
Human flesh and blood strewed over the ground while wares and other belongings of the victims were scattered.
Modu Kabiru, one of the officials of the abattoir told our correspondents that 25 dead bodies were evacuated from the scene.
“The terrorist disguised as someone selling herbal medicine and took strategic position in the abattoir in order to attract many people.
“The terrorist was carrying a basket loaded with some assorted drugs which he covered with the poster of President Muhammadu Buhari.
“He was carrying along a tape recorder that was playing songs in praise of the new president,” Kabiru said.
Another witness, Kareem Waksa said the insurgent succeeded in attracting large gathering that surrounded him before he set off the explosive devise.
“He killed himself and 25 others while at least 35 other people sustained serious injuries. Most people didn’t suspect him as he posed as a die-hard pro- Buhari man,” Waksa said.
Some people at the market said the suspect’s face was familiar in Gwange area of the metropolis and vowed to trace his family.
Immediately after the blast, the scene was cordoned off by security men while officials of the Red Cross, NEMA, volunteers and fire service men participated in the evacuation of the corpses.
The victims were taken to the University of Maiduguri Reaching Hospital (UMTH) and the Specialist Hospital but journalists were not allowed to have access to them.
The attack at the abattoir was carried out after hundreds of Boko Haram insurgents gathered on the outskirt of Maiduguri in the dead of the night and fired several rocket propelled grenades into residential areas.
The incident happened between 12.30 and 1.30am, and kept residents awake all night.
Two houses were completely destroyed at Dalori Ajilari, a suburb around Dala which was the route that the insurgents followed last Saturday in an attempt to attack the state capital.
Usman Abubakar, a resident of Dalori said about 15 people who lived in the two houses sustained injuries.
“In fact, they were so lucky to have escaped because nobody would suspect that someone will come out of the rubles. Some nearby houses were also affected,” he said.
Similarly, another suspected Boko Haram suicide bomber also blew himself up at a busy intersection in Biu town in southern Borno State.
The incident happened on Monday, witnesses said.
Military sources said yesterday that the suspect attempted to enter Biu on a suicide mission.
“The terrorist was stopped by vigilante’s and soldiers but he ended up blowing himself up,” the source said.
Meanwhile, a group under the auspices of Borno Concerned Citizens Forum (BCCF) yesterday in Maiduguri called on President Muhammadu Buhari to investigate the recent attacks in Maiduguri and its environs.
Leader of the group, Malam Babagana Mustapha Jakana said the president must check recent happenings because the insurgency was taking a different direction.
“This is probably the first time in the history of the insurgency that rocket launchers or RPGs are being used to target civilians directly.
“We are disturbed that despite the fact that most of the attacks have been reportedly repelled, no dead body of any Boko Haram insurgents was found at the scene or anywhere.
“We have right to live but from all indications, the terrorists are getting stronger everyday when we were told that they have been routed from towns and villages in the state,” he said.