The Borno State Police Command has confirmed that more than 10 people were killed on Friday night in a deadly suicide bombing at a local food joint in Konduga Local Government Area of Borno State.
The spokesperson for the Borno Police Command, ASP Nahum Daso, disclosed that the attack occurred around 10 p.m. and involved a suicide bomber targeting a crowd gathered at the popular food spot.
“Yesterday, around 22:00 in Konduga, just unfortunately, somebody invaded a gathering with a bomb, killing over 10 persons,” Daso said.
“We have deployed our EOD experts, together with the military and other security agencies, to the town. Investigation is ongoing to ascertain what actually or really happened. The detail is still scanty.”
However, other sources are reporting a higher death toll. Renowned counter-insurgency expert Zagazola Makama claimed on his platform that 24 people were killed in the blast, including both men and women, and many others sustained injuries.
Makama also stated that police sources confirmed the attack was carried out by a female suicide bomber, whose body was shredded by the explosion, leaving only the head intact and recovered at the scene.
“Following the incident, a joint team comprising Military and Police Explosive Ordnance Disposal Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear (EOD-CBRN) units, Tactical Teams, Civilian Joint Task Force (CJTF), and local hunters visited the scene,” he reported.
The joint security team cordoned off the area and conducted a thorough search for additional explosive devices but found none. According to Makama, normalcy has since returned to the area following the operation.
“The injured victims were evacuated to the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital (UMTH), where they are receiving treatment, while the corpses of the deceased were also deposited at the same hospital. Medical personnel on duty certified the dead victims,” he added.
While Boko Haram has long used suicide bombings as part of its insurgency campaign in Borno State and the wider North-East region, such attacks had significantly decreased in recent years. However, Friday’s incident highlights a troubling resurgence in terrorist activities in the region, including recent attacks on military positions by insurgents.
