34 killed as 2 female bombers shut down Maiduguri

•54 victims hospitalised

…Youths on rampage, blaming security for attack

Maiduguri, Borno State capital, was yesterday shut down as twin explosions believed to have been perpetrated by two female Boko Haram bombers near a major market, killing 34 people, while 54 victims were on hospital admission.

A female suicide bomber, who pretended to be insane, detonated the explosives along the crowded One-Way behind the Maiduguri Monday Market at about 11am yesterday. “The bomb went off just by the roadside near a shop, killing some people. The blast attracted the attention of people around who moved closer, but the second explosion occurred again. “The second one killed more people,” says Mamman Garba, a trader around he area. Residents blamed Boko Haram for the attack.

Abba Mohammed, a youth volunteer, said he participated in the rescue operation, adding that most of the victims were blown off by the force of the blasts. Sporadic gunshots by troops around the area were heard minutes after the explosions. A military source said the gunshots were meant to scare away potential bomber or attacker from wreaking further havoc.

An official, who did not want his name in print, said hat 21 people were evacuated at the scene of the blasts, but hospital sources said about 34 deaths were recorded among “those fatally injured.” Bodies of the victims were evacuated by the youths vigilante and an official of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA). They were deposited at the State Specialist Hospital, about 300 meters away front he scene.

Most of the major roads leading to the heart of the city were cordoned off by security operatives while most shops, banks, financial institutions and business premises were closed down for most part of the day.

However, angry youths yesterday alleged complicity in the blasts. They also attempted to prevent the Commissioner of Police, Mr Clement Adoda from accessing the area. One of the youths, a vigilante, Abba Musa, claimed that the military had ordered the closure of the market earlier on Monday and directed the youths vigilante to leave the area by 6pm, wondering why the military directed them to discontinue their surveillance around the area only for the suicide bombers to operate. The development forced soldiers and some anti-riot policemen around the area to shoot sporadically into the air to disperse the youths.

The blasts came barely five months after a similar explosion occurred near the same market, about 500 metres away from the scene of the July 1 explosion which killed 21 people. Maiduguri has experienced heavy security checks and surveillance by both military and youths vigilante in what a source described as quick response to security threat.

Meanwhile, Permanent Secretary, in the state Ministry of Health, Alhaji Sandar and Executive Secretary, Hospital Management Board, Dr Salisu Kwaya Bura, told Gov Kashim Shettima during his visit to the victims at the State Specialist Hospital that 54 people were admitted. “Out of this number, 14 of them who were critically injured have been referred to the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital (UMTH) for proper treatment, while 20 have been discharged,” he said.

Alhaji Sandar, also said 24 bodies were brought to the hospital even as hospital sources said the casualty was higher as some bodies could not be identified. Gov Shettima described the bombers as wicked, wondering why they have chosen the poor traders and children as targets.