There was pandemonium in Maiduguri, the Borno State capital, on Tuesday as a suspected suicide bomber detonated a bomb at the popular GSM Market near the Post Office.
Seventeen people were confirmed dead in the attack.
Survivors said that the incident occurred at about 2p.m. shortly after the Zuhur prayers.
Police Commissioner, Alhaji Lawan Tanko, confirmed the blast.
“It is true that we had a blast at the GSM market after a suicide bomber driving, in a firewood seller’s vehicle, detonated his bomb around 1p.m.
“Security agents rushed to the scene and cordoned off the place to restore normalcy.
“We counted about 17 dead bodies as at 2.30 p.m. but the evacuation is ongoing. We also counted five injured persons that were carried to hospital.’’
He said that the casualties included a Traffic Warder who sustained injuries.
He said he had instructed his men to visit hospitals in the state capital to get comprehensive details of the casualties of the blast.
Tanko said that the police had also fortified security in all public places to prevent any incident in the state capital.
A Red Cross official who helped in evacuating the victims, Malam Ibrahim Mubi, confirmed the development, saying he could not give the actual number of the casualties at the time.
Malam Fantami Ali, a trader at the GSM market, said he counted about 30 corpses after the blast.
“We were busy conducting businesses at the market when we heard explosion on the road.
“We later realised that it was a suicide bomber using fire wood seller’s pick up van that detonated bomb in the middle of the road during a busy hour at the market’’, he said.
Ali said about 50 persons were also injured in the incident. “We counted about 30 dead bodies after the incident.
“We also helped to evacuate about 50 persons who were injured at the scene’’, he said.
