At least 56 people have died and 69 others injured in the Maiduguri market suicide bombing that occurred in the early hours of Tuesday, military officials, Borno State government officials and the Civilian-JTF have said.
There were conflicting accounts, however, on the brand of vehicle the suicide bomber used to carry out the attack, as witnesses either claimed it was a Pickup van loaded with charcoal while others insisted that it was a Peugeot wagon.
But most eyewitnesses said the suicide bomber was spotted driving a rickety Peugeot wagon car moving from Gwange area, a crowded central part of Maiduguri towards the market about 8am.
A member of the Civilian-JTF, who identified himself as Musa, said: “Wallahi, if I had inkling that the man had an evil intention I would have pulled him out of the car and dealt with him.
“I was on a tricycle moving towards the market when I noticed the man trying to park by the roadside and the early-rising traders who were displaying their grocery by the roadside kept telling him to move ahead, that he was not supposed to park in front their displayed wares. We all managed to overtake him while he was still busy trying to get a parking space. His vehicle trunk was filled with sacks of what looked like charcoal. It was when we were a little bit ahead of him that we heard the deafening explosion and everywhere was dark with thick smoke.”
LEADERSHIP gathered that the suicide bomber later parked in front of old Elkanemi Cinema, now converted to a car park for inter-city bus taxis.
Most of those that fell victims to the blast were old women who usually sold groundnuts and lemons as well as commuters trying to make their way to their offices, schools or markets as well as labourers waiting to offload goods from trucks that arrived at the market overnight.
Borno State governor Kashim Shettima had visited the scene of the blast where he was told by the general manager of Monday Market, Maiduguri, Alhaji Babagana Bukar, that only 17 people among them nine members of the Civilian-JTF died.
Governor Shettima, who also visited hospitals to sympathize with victims, condemned the blast, describing it as “the worst act of man’s inhumanity to man, which is not only bestial but dastardly”.
“We will not be deterred by the antics of Boko Haram; we will continue to provide services to our people,” he said.
Though Governor Shettima had announced that the members of the Civilian-JTF should be identified, verified and compensated with the sum of N1million each, the leaders of the Civilian-JTF led by the state secretary-general, Sadiq Abba Tijjani, said that no member of their group was killed in the blast, but they had been able to pick over 56 bodies.
“We have been able to pick 21 dead bodies that could still be identified; we also picked about 35 corpses that were either burnt or mangled beyond recognition. We took 19 injured persons to the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital; five others were rushed to the State Specialists Hospital and 21 were conveyed to the Nursing Home, while nine were taken to Umaru Shehu UItra-modern hospital,” said Abba.
All witnesses that gave their accounts said most of the victims were women and children.
A man who was seen weeping at the scene of the blast said he was on his way out with his two wives to visit a patient in the hospital when the blast occurred.
“I came out with my two wives, but after the blast, I could not locate my second wife and the first one is badly injured in the arm as a result of the blast,” the confused man who did not identify himself told Governor Shettima at the General Hospital, Maiduguri.
Another member of the Civilian-JTF said the suicide bomber had engaged in an argument with some traders who said he was parking his car wrongly in front of their stand and as such they demanded that he move his car.
“The bomber later agreed to move the car but begged some traders to help him push the car to start as the battery was weak to kick-start the engine. It was in the process of pushing the car that he let the bomb go off and he and those pushing the vehicle were shredded by the blast,” said the witness.
The Sector-3 Commander of the Civilian-JTF, Iliya Saidu, under whose area of jurisdiction the blast took off, had told Governor Shettima at the council chamber of the Government House, Maiduguri, after the governor had gone round to visit victims of the blast, that they were able to carry 17 people out of which 15 were their members.
The entire scene of the blast was cordoned off for about five hours until after the police anti-bomb squad were able to sweep the entire area to ensure that it was safe before vehicles and other commuters were allowed to move towards the area.
Explosives ‘hidden under charcoal’
Yesterday’s explosives were hidden under a load of charcoal in a pickup van, according to witnesses who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals, the Associate Press reports
Trader Daba Musa Yobe, who works near the popular market, said the bomb went off just after the market opened at 08:00, before most traders or customers had arrived.
Other witnesses said they saw about 50 bodies, and that five cars and some tricycle taxis were set ablaze by the explosion.
They said the toll could have been worse but fewer than normal traders and customers were around because most people stay up late to eat during Ramadan, the Muslim month of fasting from sunrise to sunset.
A security official at the scene confirmed the blast, saying many casualties are feared. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not permitted to speak to the press.
Explosions last week targeted the biggest shopping mall in Abuja, Nigeria’s central capital, killing 24 people; a medical college in northern Kano city, killing at least eight; and a hotel brothel in northeast Bauchi city that killed 10.
Source: Leadership
July 02, 2014, 07:23:52 AM