Yola, Maiduguri Blasts Kill Scores, Injure Many

SCORES of people were yesterday killed in Jambutu mosque in Yola, the Adamawa State capital, following an explosion that occurred as worshippers were observing the weekly Jumaat service.

Also in Borno State, two suspected Boko Haram suicide bombers attacked the Central Mosque of Polo Ward in Maiduguri metropolis by detonating their “hidden strapped” Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) while worshipers were performing early morning prayers yesterday.

The attack killed 21 people while 19 other worshippers were injured.

A survivor of the Jabutu mosque blast in Yola, Alhaji Abubakar Jimeta, told The Guardian that the bomb exploded where vehicles and some tricycles popularly called Keke NAPEP were parked in front of the newly constructed mosque.

“I was on my way to the mosque when I heard the heavy explosion which shook the entire area. I picked nine badly dismembered dead bodies myself with few others and we were not the only people rescuing and parking dead bodies. So, you can imagine the number of people that died. The seriously injured people are in hundreds. You know, as a new mosque in the area, everybody wants to worship in it,” he said.

The Adamawa State Police Commissioner, Gabriel Adaji, could not confirm the number of people who died in the attack.
 
Adaji, who was at the scene of the deadly blast, condemned the attack and described the action as barbaric.

The Adamawa State Coordinator of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), Alhaji Sa’ad Bello, confirmed to The Guardian that 27 people died and that 96 people were receiving treatment at the Federal Medical Centre and Yola Specialist Hospital, both in Yola. 

“On our record now, we have 27 people confirmed dead and 96 people are now receiving treatment in the two hospitals in Yola here. We were told by some members of the mosque that the bomb was planted in the mosque or near the mosque. So, I cannot really say whether it is suicide bomber or not,” he said.

When The Guardian visited the Federal Medical Centre and Specialist Hospital in Yola, some of the injured victims were yet to get medical attention due to lack of bed spaces. However, the doctors were busy attending to those that were allocated bed spaces.

Yesterday’s twin blasts bring to seven the number of explosions in Maiduguri with a total death toll of 81 while 165 people are hospitalised at the state’s Specialist Hospital in Maiduguri and the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital (UMTH).

According to Bukar Modu of the Civilian Joint Task Force, “the twin blasts were devastating and terrifying, as the entire mosque was ripped off with its walls and roofs destroyed”.

Information Officer of NEMA, Ibrahim Abdulkadir, in a text message to The Guardian, however, said only six worshippers died in the twin blasts, while over two dozen injured persons were taken to hospitals for treatment.

Borno State Governor, Kashim Shettima also visited the blasts scene and condoled with the families of the victims.

He urged the people to continue to cooperate with military and other security agencies by reporting any suspicious movement of individuals and groups of people among the communities.