Barely 24 hours after Police authority in the troubled Borno State intercepted and impounded some 127 Improvised Explosive Devices (IED) no fewer than 10 people allegedly lost their lives and many injured at a market in Biu town, Borno State, after a suicide bomber blew herself up in Biu local market.
Adoda Clement, the Commissioner of Police (CP) Borno State Police Command, who confirmed this to our Correspondent in a chat, added that the suicide bomber was a female.
Biu is the biggest town in southern part of Borno State and the market attracts serious patronage on Mondays and Thursdays.
According to the state Police boss, the incident happened around 3.30pm and caused confusion at the busy market as almost everybody scampered for safety on hearing a frightening bang.
He said a trader, Nuhu Usman who was at the market at the time of the incident told Police anti-bomb squad who arrived the scene few minutes after the incident happened that he narrowly escaped.
“I was very much close to the van that ferried the explosive but I cannot say the whole thing was a suicide mission.
The vehicle came with some goods and passengers, including a woman but suddenly exploded.”
“There was carnage at the scene because most of the victims could not be recognised when we returned to offer help,” he said.
According to a source, the incident happened when former Governor Ali Modu Sheriff was on his way to Biu. The explosion sparked protest in the town as youths took to the streets chanting anti-Sheriff slogan. The source alleged that Sheriff may have been the target of the bomb.
