No fewer than 30 people were killed in a market in Maiduguri, Borno State capital, in the troubled North East Nigeria, after two female suicide bombers detonated a bomb.
This came barely 24 hours, after persons suspected to be members of Boko Haram, allegedly slit the throat of over 40 persons at another market in the same Maiduguri, Borno State on Sunday.
A senior Police officer and a witness to the incident told our Correspondent in a telephone interview that “two teenage girls, walked into the One-way area of Maiduguri’s main market at about 11:20am and one of them blew herself up killing about three women. It was further gathered that, “when unsuspecting sympathisers gathered to watch the scene, the second girl who was also heavily wired with explosives screamed and then the device hidden under her garment blew up killing about 30 persons.
The Borno State Coordinator of JTF, Abba Aji Kalli, also confirmed the development. “I am right here at the scene and I have before me 11 corpses that have not been evaluated; many have been taken away by relatives, while others are taken to the state Specialist Hospital.
“We have many people that are seriously injured after the two blasts”, said Kalli in a telephone chat.
The Civilian JTF chieftain explained that, “from what one of the survivors told me while being helped to get to the hospital, the bombers were two girls dressed in full hijab. One of them blew up herself and about three persons all women were killed, and minutes after that when people came round to see what happened, another bomb went off after a girl screamed and many people, over 30 of them got killed.
We cannot say the exact figure for now because even before our arrival here some of the corpses had been taken away, while some including that of the bombers were mangled beyond recognition.”
This would be the seventh female suicide bomber that would carry out an attack in Nigeria, since the Islamist group began its bloody activities in Nigeria.
It would be recalled that female suicide bomber had detonated a bomb near the college library in the main campus of the Federal College of Education (FCE) in Kontagora, Niger State, central Nigerian early this month.
According the Police spokesperson, in the Nigeria State Police command, Ibrahim Gambari, it was only the suicide bomber that died in the explosion, while some other students were critically injured.
But a lecturer in the institution, Andrew Randa, told our Correspondent on his Twitter account handle that he had seen at least three bodies.
Boko Haram Islamist group in the last two weeks, have been killing and maiming innocent persons in Nigeria, especially in the North Eastern axis of the country.
The group has declared a caliphate, or Islamic state, in areas it allegedly controls in North East Nigeria. The development, authorities at the defense headquarters through its spokesperson, described as “a mere propaganda by the distressed group.”
At least seven people were wounded by the suicide bombing and rushed to hospital, the lecturer witness said. The bomber died in the blast, the witnesses said.
He added that the explosion caused a deafening sound, and panic-stricken students and staff fled for safety, Mr Randa said.
Also the Provost of the college, Dr. Nathaniel Odediran, confirmed the incident in a telephone interview with our Correspondent.
It would be recalled that a suicide bomber had earlier blown herself up at a Polytechnic also in northern Nigeria’s biggest city of Kano in April this year, killing six people.
Six other people were critically wounded by the bomber who targeted students checking at a notice board for national youth service posting in Kano Polytechnic, government spokesman Mike Omeri had said.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility, although militant group Boko Haram is being suspected of masterminding the bloodshed:
Security forces had in July this year also arrested two Boko Haram suspects in Katsina state, the two were 10-year-old girls respectively who had had an explosive belt strapped to them by the others, but could not detonate the devices, until they were arrested by security operatives.
Using female suicide bombers by the Boko Haram terrorist group appears to be a new tactic, although they have used them on occasion for years back.
Two female suicide bombers had also blew themselves up at a trade show and a petrol station in August this year, killing one other person and injuring at least six others.
