68 injured
Doctors’ strike takes toll
N1m for victims’ families
Maiduguri, the beleaguered Borno State capital, was in pain again yesterday. A bomb went off, killing no fewer than 35 – according to a National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) source.
The source said he got the figure after bodies had been counted at the hospital. He declined to be quoted, because he is not authorised to speak officially.
Among the dead were members of the Civilian Joint Task Force (JTF) – the vigilante group that has been complementing the military in tackling Boko Haram, the insurgency group which has killed thousands. The Civilian JTF lost no fewer than 16 members.
Another 68 people were injured. Rescue operation at the hospital was affected by the doctors’ strike.
Red Cross officials and nurses were attending to the injured. Those who required urgent surgery could not be attended to.
A Peugeot 505 saloon car carrying charcoal but loaded with laden explosive devices exploded around the busy El-Kanemi Round-about, Monday Market and about 40 metres from the office of the Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) at about 7am.
No organisation has claimed responsibility, but it is believed that the Boko Haram insurgents did it.
The chairman of the Civilian JTF attached to Sector 3, Mallam Iliya Saidu, told Governor Kashim Shettima, who visited the injured in the hospital, that his men identified nine members who died in the blast.
Chairman of the Monday Market Traders Association Alhaji Bukar Jere insisted that 16 Civilian JTF members were among the “dozens” of people killed.
He told Governor Shettima at the scene of the blast: “Sixteen civilian JTF men were among those killed in the blast. 68 people sustained serious injuries”.
He said four vehicles and four tricycles were burnt in the blast, adding that the incident also affected 49 shops and wares displayed by petty traders on the road side.
Mallam Umaru Jubrin, a wheel barrow pusher in the market who had a minor injury on his face said: “The Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) were concealed under bags of charcoal in a Peugeot 505 saloon car, which was stationed by a suspected Boko Haram detonator in the busy area.
“After noticing the parked vehicle, some men of the Civilian JTF were alerted. Unfortunately, when about 20 of the Civilian JTF men approached the vehicle, it exploded leaving about 16 of them dead. Over 30 others were killed in the blast that shook the city of its foundation.
“Also, over 68 people, including Civilian JTF members were seriously injured in the blast. They were all rushed to various hospitals in Maiduguri.”
A trader, Mallam Hussaini Sani, said: “We usually come here very early as there is nothing to do at home; so, we come around to wait until the market is open. As we were chatting, we heard ‘boom!’ A sound of bomb blast. We ran towards the smoke area and saw many people on the ground before the security came. Many people were killed.”
Police spokesman DSP Gideon Jibril said: “Our officers and men are already at the scene of the explosion as evacuation of bodies is ongoing.”
Shettima left the scene for the State Specialist Hospital, Umaru Shehu General Hospital in Bulumkutu, where he sympathised with the victims.
He prayed for the repose of the souls of the dead.
He said the government would foot the medical bills of the victims. Families of those who lost their loved ones or relatives, particularly the Civilian JTF, will get N1 million each, he added.
Shettima condemned the perpetrators of the bombing as” anti- Islam”, “barbaric” and “wicked”.
He wondered why some miscreants were using the period of Ramadan to cause havoc.
A military source said about 24 people were killed and 50 others seriously injured.
The Defence Headquarters (DHQ) has ordered heavy surveillance of Maiduguri and its environs.
According to the DHQ, the insurgents used a truck loaded with charcoal and firewood for the bombing.
A military source, who spoke in confidence, said: “Preliminary investigation indicated that 24 people were killed and 50 injured during the blast at the Monday market.
“Going by the information available to the military, a truck conveying firewood and charcoal was used by the insurgents this time around.
“The truck was neatly parked at the market as if it wanted to discharge its contents but the IED, which was neatly tucked inside the truck, exploded. The truck was deliberately put at a spot where many buyers and sellers usually converge.
“Obviously when the bomb exploded, it affected many people who came early to the market.”
Another military source said: “What we have been able to establish so far is that a truck was used for the explosion by the insurgents.
“We are working on another clue that a Keke NAPEP hit the IED laden truck, leading to a huge explosion, which overwhelmed the Monday market.
“The casualty figure was high because most residents of Maiduguri are doing early morning shopping because of the security situation in the town.
“Apart from cordoning off the area, the security agencies and the military have started investigation into the incident.”
The thinking in security circles is that because security has been tightened, the insurgents have devised a new method by disguising with vehicles which do not usually undergo intensive search.
“How do you ask a truck driver carrying logs of firewood and charcoal to offload these items?
“This is purely a guerilla tactics being adopted by the insurgents because Maiduguri has virtually become unsafe for them. These methods are always being used by the Taliban and Al-Qaeda,” the source said.
The Chief of Defence Staff, Air Chief Marshal Alex Badeh, has ordered “heavy surveillance and combing” of Maiduguri and its environs.
“If it now means asking truck drivers to offload the items in their vehicles, we will get to that level,” the source said, pleading not to be named.
