Borno market bombed; 50 killed, 68 injured

 



More Than 50 People, including 16 members of the Vigilante outfit, also known as Civilian JTF, were killed, yesterday when a Peugeot 505 saloon car conveying charcoal and wired with Improvised Explosive Devices, IEDs, exploded in the busy Monday Market in Maiduguri, the Borno State capital. About 68 others were seriously injured.


A conflicting report from residents and sources, however, said 20 people including Civilian JTF members died in the blast, while more than 60 others sustained serious injuries. Other sources claimed that the number of those who died could be higher than 40 or 50 as many among the injured died before getting to Umaru Shehu and State Specialist Hospitals.BORNO-MARKET-BLAST

 

The explosion was said to have occurred at about 7 am at the Elkanemi Round -About, in the Monday Market, which is about 40 metres away from the office of the Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) in Maiduguri.

Mallam Umaru Jubrin, a wheel barrow pusher at the market, who also sustained an injury said: “The IEDs were concealed under bags of charcoal in a Peugeot 505 saloon car, which was parked by a suspected Boko Haram member in the busy area. Some people, who noticed the vehicle parked and abandoned in the area were suspicious and decided to alert some Civilian JTF men. Unfortunately, when about 20 of the Civilian JTF men approached the vehicle, it exploded, leaving about 16 of them dead as well as 30 innocent civilians. 68 people, including the Civilian JTF men were also seriously injured in the blast and were all rushed to various hospitals in Maiduguri for treatment.

“The people, who parked the vehicle knew that the area was a busy place for all kinds of traders as well as people who pass through the place on their way to their offices.”

Traders and workers who witnessed the blast said many people were killed, while several vehicles went up in flames.

Another trader Mallam Hussaini Sani said: “We were here very early in the morning and waited for the market to open. While waiting, we were discussing and all of a sudden we heard an explosion. We ran towards the area and saw many people dead on the ground before the security men came and pursued everybody away. But so many people died in the blast.”