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Suicide bomb attack kills 12, wounds 48 in Maiduguri market

By Njadvara Musa (Maiduguri), Segun Olaniyi (Abuja)  with agency report
18 January 2018   |   3:43 am
No fewer than12 people were killed and 48 wounded in a suicide bomb attack in Maiduguri on Wednesday. Eyewitnesses told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that the mayhem was caused by an Improvised Explosive Device...

No fewer than12 people were killed and 48 wounded in a suicide bomb attack in Maiduguri on Wednesday. Eyewitnesses told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that the mayhem was caused by an Improvised Explosive Device (IED), detonated by a male suicide bomber at Alai Fadawu market on the outskirts of Maiduguri.

Ibrahim Usman, a trader in Muna Garage market, said the first bomber attacked inside the market while the other remained outside, killing only himself. The witnesses said the incident occurred at 4.15 p.m. when people gathered for trading activities.

The head of rescue operations for the State Emergency Management Agency, Bello Dambatta, says a female bomber attacked the market while the other attacker was male.The Commissioner of Police, Mr. Daminian Chukwu, confirmed the incident.

Chukwu said that a male suicide bomber detonated an explosive device at a crowded market killing himself and 10 other persons.“One other suicide bomber out of panic detonated the explosive and blew himself into pieces.”Chukwu disclosed that the corpses and the wounded persons were evacuated to the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital.

The commissioner called on the people to be vigilant and report suspicious persons in their communities to security agencies.“People should be vigilant because Boko Haram insurgents have not surrendered,” he warned.

The incident was the first suicide bomb attack in Maiduguri since the beginning of the year.Muna Garage, an internally displace camp, has been attacked several times in the past few years by Boko Haram insurgents.

Also, the state government has reviewed the curfew in the metropolis to be observed between 8:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m.The curfew is to enable the military to complete the ongoing clearance operation against remnants of the insurgents.

Meanwhile, the Theatre Commander, Operation Lafiya Dole, Maj-Gen Rogers Nicholas, has charged troops on counter-insurgency to get prepared and end Boko Haram insurgency in the Northeast.Nicholas gave the charge yesterday, while addressing troops at Damasak, Gubio and Kareto operational military bases in northern Borno.

He said the Nigerian military authorities, are much more determined to end the Boko Haram war very soon.“I urged all of you here to prepare for the challenges to end this war. You must be professionals in defeating Boko Haram insurgents.“We are going into the last phase of the fight against insurgency. We must do everything possible to end this war and go back to our barracks.

“We have been here long enough. Let us do everything possible to end Boko Haram and focus on other roles.’’In another development, the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) has claimed that  one of its Remotely Piloted Aircraft (RPA) on Monday successfully destroyed a Boko Haram vehicle workshop, killing many of the insurgents in the process at the Sambisa general area

A statement by the spokesman,  Air Vice Marshal,  Olatokunbo Adesanya in Abuja, yesterday said the NAF Intelligence Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) platform had previously discovered that Boko Haram vehicles were parked in the location.

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