Residents killed as suicide bomber hits food joint in Borno

At least 10 persons were killed when a suicide bomber hit a local food joint in Konduga Local Government Area of Borno State, on Friday.

Confirming the incident, Police Public Relations Officer of the Borno State Police Command, ASP Nahum Daso, said investigation was ongoing.

to ascertain the actual number of casualties.

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“Yesterday, around 22:00 in Konduga, just unfortunately, somebody invaded a gathering with a bomb, killing over 10 persons,” he 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.”

But counterinsurgency expert,  Zagazola Makama, said 24 people were killed and several others sustained injuries in the attack which was reportedly carried out by a female terrorist.

“The Police sources said the explosion resulted in the fatal wounding of 24 persons, both male and female, while an unspecified number of others sustained varying degrees of injuries. The body of the suicide bomber was torn apart by the blast, with only the head recovered.”

“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.

“The area was cordoned off and thoroughly searched for other potential explosive devices, but none were found. Normalcy has since been restored to the area.

“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,” Makama said.

He added that efforts were ongoing to profile the victims and release the corpses to their families for burial in accordance with religious rites.

Suicide bombing was one of the strategies Boko Haram adopted in the early days of insurgency.