Boko Haram kills 50 at Yobe prayer grounds

Firstclass newsline learnt that Fifty persons were killed in two bomb
explosions in Damaturu, the Yobe State capital on Friday.
A military source told a source that 43 persons died in the first
explosion which occurred at 7.40am and seven others in the second
explosion, suspected to have been caused by Boko Haram insurgents.
Several other people were also said to have sustained various degrees
of injuries from the explosions.
The source said the attacks were carried out by two female suicide
bombers- an elderly woman and a ten-year-old girl- who were said to
have detonated the explosive devices.
Also, residents confirmed that at least 50 persons were killed in the blasts.
The residents said the twin blasts occurred close to prayer grounds
and at a time when Muslim faithful were gathering for the
congregational prayer to mark the end of the holy month of Ramadan.
The incidents occurred at Layin Gwange and 'Phase 1', opposite the
former state secretariat in Damaturu.
A resident, Musa Yusuf, who spoke to a source on the telephone, said
the explosions had heightened the level of apprehension in the city.
He said, "There is apprehension in Damaturu as I'm talking to you; we
are celebrating Sallah in fear with this morning explosions."
It will be recalled that a ban on vehicular movements was announced in
the state before the end of the Ramadan to forestall any breach in
security.
An aid worker, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said as of
that time, his team had evacuated "ten corpses from Phase I area."
He said the bomb was targeted at the praying ground in the area and
that several persons who were injured had been taken to a general
hospital.
The aid worker also said that some aid workers had been dispatched to
assess the situation at the scene of the second explosion, which he
said occurred on the outskirts of the town.
However, the acting Director, Army Public Relations, Colonel Sani
Kukasheka Usman, in an official statement, said nine persons were
killed in the attacks.
He said, "Four persons died in the first explosion and seven people
(were) injured, while five people lost their lives in the second
explosion and 11 wounded."
Following the attack, the streets of Damaturu were deserted.
But the blasts did not affect Eid-el-Fitr prayers as hundreds of
Muslim worshippers attended prayer grounds to thank Allah for the
success of the Ramadan fast.
The Chief of Army Staff, Maj.-Gen. T. Y. Buratai, joined Governor
Ibrahim Geidam Yobe State, some government officials and military
personnel to pray at the state mosque and Islamic centre.
Buratai sympathised with the victims of the attacks and the people of
the state, urging them to "stay calm and be security conscious."
He said, "No amount of terrorist act would deter our resolve to stamp
out terrorism and insurgency."
In a related development, the Catholic Church in Borno State has said
that Boko Haram has in the last one year bombed all the major bridges
on four of the five highways linking Maiduguri with the rest of the
country.
Lamenting that residents of the city were going through untold
hardship and pain, the Social Communications Director of the Catholic
Diocese of Maiduguri, Borno State, Rev. Fr. Gideon Obasogie, claimed
that the insurgent group had also planted landmines on roads, killing
several travellers continually.
He added that commuting along the Maiduguri-Damaturu highway had become deadly.
He said, "Our people are still being massacred daily. Travelling from
one part of the diocese to another has become dangerous. Commuting
along the Maiduguri-Damaturu highway was halted again for the fourth
time in a week, as security operatives battle to prevent travellers
from driving into an ambush by the bloodthirsty insurgents."
Meanwhile, the Governor of Ogun State, Senator Ibikunle Amosun, has
described Boko Haram as a shame to the nation.
He said this at the Muslims praying ground in Abeokuta, shortly after
the Eid-el-Fitr prayer.
Firstclassnewsline.net