40 Killed in Gombe bomb attack — Nov 1, 2014| 40 killed in Gombe bomb attack In what could be described as a mockery of the peace treaty said to have been brokered between the federal government and leaders of the Boko Haram sect, a multiple bomb explosion this morning rocked the terminus of the state-owned transport company, Gombe Line in Gombe, the Gombe state capital. At least 40 people were killed, while scores sustained various degrees of injuries in the multiple explosions that occurred at about 9.30am. It was also gathered that the blast occurred barely 15 minutes after a military patrol team left the area. The bus station descended into chaos after the bombs went off, with several being injured in a stampede as people tried to flee the scene, a rescue worker said. Though it is not clear whether the Boko Haram sect was behind the attack in Gombe, as no one had claimed responsibility as at the time of going to press, the attack bore the traits of attacks carried out by the sect in the past. The extremists have a record of targeting commuters at busy bus terminuses. They include two in April and May this year on the outskirts of Abuja that killed nearly 100 people. An October 23 attack at a bus station in Bauchi State killed five people, with many again blaming Boko Haram. Those who witnessed the incident said the bombs were planted by three men who drove into the bus park in one vehicle and then dropped bags packed with explosives between the buses, which were filling up with passengers. The suspected bombers, according to an employee of Gombe Line, Lawanti Aliyu, made to escape but were stopped in their tracks by a mob that apprehended them and attempted to lynch them before they were rescued and whisked away by security operatives. Locals reportedly threw stones at the vehicles carrying security service personnel who rushed to the scene, apparently outraged by the fresh violence in the city, which has been attacked by Boko Haram in the past. Spokesman of the state police command, Fwaje Atajiri who confirmed the incident, said, “They (the bombers) left the bomb inside one of the vehicles at the park. The blast went off at about 9:30am. Up till now we don’t know the number of people, but it’s a very busy park so many people would have died in such a bomb blast.” A rescue worker, who requested anonymity, said eight bodies were found dead at the scene and brought to the Gombe Specialist Hospital. An official of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) who spoke on the grounds of anonymity however put the casualty figure at 30, saying 30 dead bodies were found at the first count. Another 34 were wounded, according to NEMA spokesman Manzo Ezekiel. Gombe’s police chief Abdullahi Kudu said three suspects were arrested immediately after the blasts at the Gombe Line Station. The police chief said he believed the suspected attackers had travelled together from Yobe, where the insurgents are thought to be in control of several towns and cities. Gombe shares borders with the three northeastern states under emergency rule since May 2013, namely Adamawa, Borno and Yobe and yesterday’s attack was just one in a series of attacks on the state this year alone. Early this year, precisely in April, a police station in Gombe metropolis was bombed, killing several people and leaving scores injured. On June 5 2014, a suspected suicide bomber attacked a police armoured personnel carrier stationed outside a private residence of Governor Ibrahim Hassan Dankwambo. The incident claimed a total of five lives. Three days later, a female suicide bomber and a soldier died in a blast near Military Quarter Guard, Gombe State. On July 8 this year, the alertness of police officers helped to avert what would have been a devastating bomb explosion at a secondary school in Gombe State. Meanwhile, the Gombe State governor, Alh Ibrahim Hassan Dankwambo visited the scene of the blast shortly after he arrived from Abuja. He also visited the Gombe State Specialist Hospital and Federal Teaching Hospital Gombe, where the victims of the incident were admitted. The Governor called on the general public to remain calm, as the security operatives were on top of the matter to fish out the perpetrators. He promised that the government would pay all the medical bills of the victims and said that already, about 26 of them had been discharged, while 15 others were still on admission at the Federal Teaching Hospital, Gombe.
Posted on: Sat, 01 Nov 2014 09:44:20 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015