Boko Haram might have struck again in Potiskum, Yobe State, as a girl hit the entrance of the GSM market around 1:15pm today. Five persons were killed on the spot.
“At the spot, the bomber killed two people and herself. 48 casualties were brought to the hospital and two later died making five people dead,” a hospital source told The Nation.
The Police Public Relations Officer of Yobe State, ASP Toyin Gbadegesin, confirmed the incident.
“Yes, I can confirm to you that there is a blast at the Kasuwan Jagwal market (GSM market) in Potiskum where it happened last month but how it happened and the casualty figure has not been known,” the police spokesman told Channels TV.
Witnesses said the bomber looked as young as seven years. They said when they sighted her, they became suspicious of her movement. But “when one of us tried to whisk her away, the bomb went off….”
Although no group has claimed responsibility for the attack, Islamist terrorist group Boko Haram has carried out similar attacks in the town and across Nigeria’s northeast, as it continues its violent campaign.
Over 13,000 people have been killed while more than one million people have been left homeless since 2009 as the rebels try to create carve out an Islamic state in Nigeria’s northeast.