Suicide bomber hits Yobe market, kills 19

No fewer than 19 persons were killed in a suicide attack on a market in Damaturu, the Yobe State capital, on Sunday.

Bomb Scene

The State Police Command has, however, said 15 people died and 47 others were injured in the explosion.

The Police Public Relations Officer of the Yobe State Police Command, Toyin Gbadegesin, told journalists that a female suicide bomber, whose age he believed could not more be more than 10 years, carried out the attack.

He said the small girl detonated an Improvised Explosive Device at the entrance of the market at about 9.30am on Sunday.

He said preliminary report indicated that 15 people had been killed while 47 others, who were injured, were receiving treatment at the Sani Abacha Specialist Hospital in Damaturu.

The PPRO explained that five units of primed IEDs were also recovered from the scene of the blast, warning the people to be careful with people carrying bags as the militants had resorted to using bags in conveying their explosive devices.

Meanwhile, the Yobe State Governor, Ibrahim Gaidam, in a statement by his Director of Press, Abdullahi Bego, on Sunday, described the attack as horrific.

The governor said “has been briefed about the horrific bomb attack in a market in Damaturu today, in which 19 people were killed and many others injured.”

The statement added, “This is another sad day in our state in which innocent people were again the target of blood-thirsty terrorists.

“His Excellency Governor Gaidam’s thoughts and prayers are with the families of victims and those who sustained injuries. The governor has condemned the attack as callous, barbaric and unjustifiable.”

Suicide bomber hits Yobe market, kills 19