Boko Haram kills 30 in Gombe blast

No fewer than 30 persons were killed on Friday when a bomb was detonated by some suspected Boko Haram insurgents at a bus terminus in Gombe.

Some residents of the town, who spoke to our correspondent, said the blast occurred at about 9am when the bus terminus was full with travellers.

The residents claimed that about 30 corpses lied at the bus terminus immediately after the explosion

An eyewitness, Ibrahim Issa, said, “It was quite unfortunate that today (Friday) will go down in the history of Gombe as Black Friday as the usually packed full terminus of the state transport authority aka Gombe line was attacked by suspected terrorists. “At about 9 am, an improvised explosive device went off at the park, while passengers were boarding commercial vehicles to various destinations across the country.

“The blast left scores of people dead, with many others sustaining various degrees of injury and 12 vehicles were affected.”

Addressing journalists at the scene of the incident, the Gombe State Commissioner of Police, Kudu Nma, said it was unfortunate that such a thing occurred in the state where peace had always been enjoyed.

Nma could, however, not ascertain the number of casualties at the time of filing this report, but a mortuary attendant with the Specialist Hospital confirmed that 23 bodies were brought from the scene of the incident.

It was also learnt that a body was deposited at the Federal Teaching hospital.

The police commissioner, however, confirmed the arrest of three persons suspected to be masterminds of the attack. The suspects were said to have sneaked into the park in a Volkswagen Sharon bus, with the inscription Yobe line on it.

When our correspondent visited the state Specialist hospital, tension rose as many people thronged the facility to check if their relatives were among the victims.

Meanwhile, the state Governor, Dr. Ibrahim Dankwambo, said eight people lost their lives as a result of the blast. He said this at the Federal Teaching Hospital, Gombe, shortly after visiting survivors of the incident, who were receiving medical attention.

Dankwambo, while describing the day as a sad one for the state and the entire nation, said eight people lost their lives and 46 others were injured but majority of them had been discharged from the hospital, while 15 were still on admission.