Bomb Blast Claims Four Lives, Injures 10 In Borno Village

Four travellers lost their lives and 10 others were injured on Wednesday after a bomb exploded at Komala village, along the Maiduguri–Damboa highway in Borno State.

The explosion, which occurred around 3:30pm, involved a Suzuki pick-up truck that reportedly drove over an improvised explosive device (IED) planted on the road.

Confirming the incident to The PUNCH, the spokesperson for the Borno State Police Command, ASP Nahum Daso, said the injured had been evacuated to the State Specialist Hospital in Maiduguri.

“I confirm that the incident happened. Four persons died and 10 sustained various degrees of injuries. They have been taken to the State Specialist Hospital in Maiduguri,” he said.

Sources who witnessed the explosion also said the blast caused a heavy traffic jam, stalling movement for several hours.

“We met serious gridlock before we were able to pass,” one of the passengers told The PUNCH.

The latest bombing comes less than three months after another IED attack along the same route on April 12, which killed eight people and left 11 others injured.

At the time, police disclosed that the April explosion involved a Hummer bus with registration number Jigawa MMR144, which hit an IED planted by suspected Boko Haram insurgents at the same Komala village in Konduga Local Government Area.

This comes barely six days after a suspected Boko Haram suicide bomber detonated an explosive device at a crowded fish market in the Konduga Local Government Area of the state.

The incident which occurred last Friday claimed at least 10 civilians and injured seven others.

According to security sources, the assailant disguised as a civilian and mingled with the crowd before detonating the explosive.

The suicide bomber also died in the blast.