At least nine residents are feared dead following the detonation of an improvised explosive device (IED) at a bus stop in Mairari village, located in Guzamala LGA of Borno state.
The blast occurred around 11am on Saturday and left several persons injured.
Abdulkarim Lawan, speaker of the Borno state house of assembly, confirmed the incident on Sunday while describing the attack as “unfortunate”.
“It is unfortunate that nine of my resilient constituents were killed by planted IEDs while waiting to board vehicles at a local bus stop in Mairari village,” Punch quoted him as saying.
“May Allah grant their souls Aljanatul Firdaus. I also pray for the swift recovery of those evacuated to hospitals in Monguno and Maiduguri for treatment following the incident.”
Lawan said the victims were mostly returnees and displaced persons who had gone back to Mairari to engage in farming activities.
“You are aware that Mairari village, which was previously the only village resettled twice with civil authority in the entire Guzamala Local Government Area, has once again been deserted due to Boko Haram/ISWAP attacks,” he added.
“As resilient people, many of those taking refuge in Monguno, Guzamala, and Maiduguri often visit the Mairari community to engage in farming.
“Unfortunately, terrorists who have been monitoring their movements planted IEDs at the local bus stop, which exploded while they were waiting to board commercial vehicles back to their destinations.”
He extended condolences to the bereaved families and urged the military to intensify efforts to restore security in Guzamala, particularly in Mairari and Gudumbali, the council headquarters, which, he said, remain under Boko Haram control with no civil authority.
When TheCable contacted Nahum Daso, spokesperson of the Borno police command, he said he had not yet received full details of the incident but promised to provide updates when available.
