A total of 39 persons were recorded dead in five suicide bomb explosions that rocked Maiduguri, the Borno State capital just between Thursday and Friday, according to statistics gathered by the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) and released on Friday.
NEMA said the incidents also resulted in 49 residents sustaining various degrees of injury.
But reports pieced together show that the figure could be more that what NEMA has confirmed.
In one of the incidents which occurred on Friday morning, four female suicide bombers stormed Umari village in Maiduguri town, killing at least 22 people and injuring many others.
On Thursday evening, it was learnt that two male suicide bombers attacked a mosque in Molai community while residents were observing evening prayers.
Reports said at least 30 people were killed while many others sustained injury.
An officer of the Civilian-JTF, Khalil Abba, who confirmed the Friday incident, said it happened at about 5am.
“Four women, all armed with Improvised Explosives Devices (IEDs) worn under their garments made an attempt to sneak into Maiduguri through same route where last night’s bombers used.”
He said they were spotted by soldiers who shot them down when they defied orders to stop advancing.
“One of the women was however quick to detonate her explosive, killing herself and injuring about 14 innocent villagers at a village near Molai where yesterday’s blasts occurred.
“The women were seen trying to sneak through the bush paths along the Maiduguri-Biu Road, but soldiers at the checkpoint were able to spot them after receiving some vital intelligence from informants.
“The women refused to obey soldiers orders to halt movement, so the soldiers opened fire on them. One of the women was unfortunately able to detonate her explosive, which triggered the ones on the bodies of the three others that were shot down.
“The shrapnel from the explosion however killed many persons and injured about 14 villagers in the nearby community,” he said adding that the injured were currently receiving treatment.
