A young Nigerian female suicide bomber detonated herself up in Damaturu, the capital of Yobe State, at a market near a bus station. She killed at least seven people.
“A girl aged about 12 detonated an explosive under her clothes as she approached the station’s perimeter fence,” described shopkeeper Danbaba Nguru. “The road leading to the gates is always full of small traders … I was lucky not to have been hit.”
Dr. Gara Fika, the head of Sani Abacha hospital, told the media and Governor Ibrahim Gaidam that one person passed away after admission.
“We received a total of 33 victims of bomb blast that occurred an hour ago; all of them sustained various degrees of injuries, out of which seven are dead, while seven are under very critical conditions,” he explained. “We might refer those under critical condition to the Federal Medical Centre, Nguru and Federal Medical Centre Azare in Bauchi State respectively. Already, the Yobe State government had signed a Memorandum of Understanding with these health institutions, in case of emergency of this nature.”
Those who were not in critical condition received proper treatment and were discharged thereafter. Fika has encouraged more in the community to donate blood.
“I was in the station when I saw the young girl arrive,” said bus driver Musbahu Lawan. “I think she noticed the guards checking people at the gates and she decided to detonate the explosives in the middle of the crowd outside the gates.”
No one claimed responsibility, but Boko Haram used numerous suicide bombers, including females, to target the popular bus station in Damaturu in the past. In December, Nigerian authorities arrested aspiring female suicide bombers, who claimed there are still 50 future female suicide bombers scattered in Maiduguri, the capital of Borno State. The police arrested her at the University of Maiduguri, which raised tensions on campus. Students underwent strict searches by security personnel. The university only allowed professors to drive their cars on campus.
Female suicide bombers terrorized Kano, which is 368 miles east of Maiduguri, for a week in late July. One female suicide bomber killed three people at the Kano State Polytechnic School. On the same day, officials arrested a 10-year-old girl after discovering that she was wearing a belt carrying explosives. Other bombers killed people at a gas station, supermarket, and a temporary university site. The bomber in the latter case was only 15-years-old.
On November 25, two suicide bombers, one female, killed over 50 people at a market in Maiduguri in the late morning. The woman detonated her bombs first and her male companion blew up when rescue personal arrived. Just two days later, two female suicide bombers killed 78 people in a similar fashion at a popular market in Maiduguri. One woman exploded inside the market, but the other waited until rescuers arrived.
Nigeria gained the upper hand against the radical Islamic group, but last week, Boko Haram recaptured Marte from the army. It is a very important city for both sides since it “sits on a strategic trading route between Nigeria, Cameroon and Chad.”
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