Two female Boko Haram suicide bombers on Wednesday disguised as refugees, detonated their strapped explosives and killed seven people at the Internally Displaced Persons’ (IDPs’) camp in Banki, Borno State.
Banki is a commercial border community with Cameroon and 143 kilometres east of Maiduguri.
A military source and a vigilance group youth member of the Civilian JTF told The Nation yesterday that the female bombers disguised and sneaked into the camp before detonating the explosives.
Modu Ajani, a vigilance group youth, in a telephone interview with our correspondent in Maiduguri, said: “People thought they were IDPs until the first explosion went off. The second one immediately followed; killing seven IDPs.”
He said his colleagues in Bama, 65 kilometres west of the border town, gave him the information, adding that about nine people were injured.
Military authority at the Maimalari Cantonment, Maiduguri did not comment on the incident at press time.
Residents of Maiduguri were not aware of the suicide bombings until yesterday because of lack of telephone services at Banki, following the destruction of telecoms masts by insurgents.
The town was attacked twice by terrorists in 2013 and early 2014. The insurgents were driven away by the military in April last year.
Five farmers have been reported killed by an explosion buried as mines by Boko Haram insurgents at Goniri in Gujba Local Government Area of Yobe State.
Goniri is one of the towns recently liberated from Boko Haram by the military. People returned to the town about two weeks ago.
The deceased were clearing farmlands when the incident occurred.
The Chief Medical Director of Gen. Sani Abacha Specialist Hospital, Damaturu, Dr. Garba Musa Fika, told our correspondent on the phone that he was not aware of the death toll. He confirmed that nine people were admitted with injuries.
The military had delayed the return of the IDPs on the grounds that they were clearing Boko Haram mines from the liberated communities.