An explosion on Sunday by a female suicide bomber at a screening point for Internally Displaced Persons in Maiduguri, the Borno State capital, killed eight persons, including five women.
The Borno State Commissioner of Police, Mr. Aderemi Opadokun, confirmed the attack in a Short Message Service to our correspondent.
He said, “Yes, at about 10.40 hours of Sunday, a suspected female suicide bomber, while approaching Mafa checkpoint on foot at Galimari Village, detonated an Improvised Explosives Device strapped to her body in the midst of a crowd trying to enter Maiduguri. The explosion killed eight persons including the bomber, eight others were injured.
“Scene of the incident was visited, the victims and corpses were conveyed to the hospital and investigation is in progress and the area is now safe.”
The Chairman of Borno State Emergency Agency, Mr. Ahmed Satomi, also told our correspondent on the telephone that among the injured were three persons, whom he believed had a slim chance of survival as they were critically injured.
Satomi said the incident occurred around Muna garage at about 11am during the screening of persons that came into Maiduguri from Dikwa area of the state.
He said the people fleeing Dikwa and its environs into Maiduguri were screened at Muna garage, which is the entrance into the town before they could be allowed to join others at the state-run IDP camps.
He stated, “Since the IDPs were coming voluntarily into the town, it was decided that they had to be screened at the entrance into the town to avoid the insurgents mingling with them.
“Those that are successfully screened would be admitted into one of the IDP camps established within Maiduguri. But it was unfortunate that just when the screening was on, one woman with explosive devices strapped on her, rammed into others causing the death of six women including herself with six other injured.”
Satomi added that two men, suspected to be members of Boko Haram, were arrested.
He said, “The two are being held by security agencies for further screening and perhaps detention.”
A member of the youth vigilance group, who took part in the screening, Abba Yusuf, however, told our correspondent on the telephone that seven women were killed in the explosion.
Abba said six other persons were injured including three members of the youth vigilance group who were involved in the screening of the displaced persons.
According to him, over 350 persons were already screened and were at a petrol station around the Muna garage.
He explained that one of the women, who had yet to be screened, rammed into others in the queue waiting to be screened, detonating the bomb strapped on her. Agency report
