31 December 2011
Lt. Col. Hassan Mohammed, the Spokesman of the Joint Task Force (JTF), tagged Operation Restore Order (ODO) told newsmen in Maiduguri that the three persons killed in the city were knocked down by robbers while fleeing the market.
Mohammed said: “Shortly after the Friday Prayers three suspected robbers stormed the Monday Market and attempted to dispossess traders of their money. But the JTF was alerted resulting in a hot chase and eventually heavy exchange of fire.”
He added, however, that the robbers decided to run after meeting the superior fire power of the soldiers.
“It was in the process of trying to escape that the robbers knocked down three civilians in the market.”
He said: “Two of the victims died instantly, while the third sustained serious injuries and has been rushed to the hospital for attention.” He said he was not aware of any other casualty.
According to him: “No any other person died or sustained injuries and no arrest has been made.”
Some of the traders at the market, however, told newsmen that the incident started with an explosion near a mosque at the market killing about three persons.
But sources at the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital (UMTH) confirmed that three mutilated dead bodies were deposited at the mortuary but they declined to state if there were other casualties.
Also speaking on the attack, the Jama’atul Ahlis Sunna Wal Da’awti Wal Jihad known as the Boko Haram confirmed the angle that an explosion hit the market and claimed responsibility for the act.
Mallam Abu Qaqa spokesman of the group said in a telephone interview with some Maiduguri-based journalists that his group was responsible for the bomb blast at the market.
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