The Police in Yobe State, northeast Nigeria, say eight people were killed in the Damaturu Police checkpoint bombing that was carried out by suspected members of the dreaded sect, Boko Haram.
The Police Public Relations Officer, Toyin Gbadegesin, who confirmed the death toll in Damaturu, said that three policemen and five suspected members of the sect died during the explosion which occurred around 11: 00 AM Monday.
He also said that two more security personnel were at the Damaturu Specialist Hospital receiving treatment.
The Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Yobe Command, Mr. Toyin Gbadegesin, said that two cars suspected to be carrying explosive devices were apprehended and in the process of looking for enforcement to convey the suspects to the State Police Command, the suspected terrorists triggered the Improvised Explosive Devices (IED) which killed five people on the spot while three more died later in the hospital.
The Police PRO said that men of the Explosive Ordinance Department (EOD) of the State Police Command were deployed to diffuse more IED discovered at the scene.
He called on the people of the state to be watchful as the terrorists seem to be on rampage over the past days.
While calling on the people of the state to always obey security rules, the PPRO said that the Eid-el-Fitr bombings in Damaturu in the past three days would have been averted if the law abiding people of the state had respected the restriction of vehicular movement in the troubled state capital.
Monday’s suicide bomb attack came three days after twin bomb blasts disrupted the Salah celebration in Damaturu with the killing of 15 people.
The Chief of Army Staff, Major General Tukur Yusuf Buratai, had been in the troubled Yobe State for the past three days with a view to developing new strategies to end the terror attacks being perpetrated by the radical militants the Boko Haram.