Another bomb blast rocks Maiduguri; ...14 killed, 19 injured

Barely 24 hours after the Maiduguri abattoir bomb blast that claimed several lives and properties, another Improvised Explosive Device (IED) exploded at the Baga Road Fish Market and motor park, killing 14 people.

The blast which occurred around 5:15 pm on Wednesday also wounded 19 others.

The explosives, according to an eyewitness, Audu Isa, was planted beside the entrance to the market and opposite Ibrahim Taiwo Divisional Police Station, when traders and customers were rushing to beat the 7pm curfew.

“This blast was devastating and shocking, as the explosion rocked the entire Bolori and Pompomari axis, sending smoke into the air for 15 minutes, before the Nigerian Red Cross (NRC) and National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) rescue teams rushed to the scene to evacuate bodies and the injured ones.

“As at the time the rescue team reached the fish and vegetable markets, I counted 11 bodies dismembered, with some of the limbs ripped off,” Isa said.

Hamidu Ibrahim, a member of the Civilian Joint Task Force (CJTF) that had been patrolling the Baga-Bolori-Pompomari axis of Maiduguri metropolis also told Newsmen that “this explosive was hidden in a black polythene bag and planted in one of the entrances to the market and park, before the suspected bomber detonated it at about 5pm”.

He said the rescue teams of NRC and NEMA evacuated 11 bodies along with 19 injured persons to the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital and the State Specialist Hospital, Maiduguri.

An official of NEMA also said that the agency’s rescue team was able to evacuate 11 bodies to the hospital mortuary for identification, while 19 injured ones were taken to hospitals for treatment.

“I cannot give you the exact number of casualties, but certainly there are some injured ones that are in critical conditions”, said a NEMA official yesterday.

Confirming the incident yesterday, the Borno State Police Command said that over a dozen people were killed in the market blast.

Credit: By Maina Maina/Daily Post