UPDATED: ’31 killed’ in Gombe, Bauchi bomb blasts

At least 24 people were killed on Monday in a bomb blast at the Dukku motor park in Gombe, Gombe state.

A top security source had told TheCable that the blast occurred at about 11am, a time when the park was saturated with passengers “who wanted to travel” ahead of the Christmas Day and Boxing Day holidays.

Fwaje Atajiri, spokesman of the Gombe state police command, could not be reached at the time of filing this report, as he neither answered his call nor responded to the text message sent to his phone.

But AFP reported that 24 people died in the attack.

“There was an explosion at the Dukku motor park. The Red Cross mobilised with 20 body bags and they have all been exhausted,” it quoted Abubakar Yakubu, the area secretary for the Red Cross, as saying.

“We are still looking for more bodies among the carnage.”

Mato Yakubu, an official of the national orientation agency, said the bomb was planted near a bus that was parked and filled up with passengers.

A similar attack led to the loss of 31 lives at the Central Park in Cross, Gombe on October 31.

Hours after the Gombe blast, a separate bomb explosion occurred at the central market in Buachi, Bauchi state, killing seven people and injuring 25.

Eyewitnesses said the bomb went off at about 5:30pm.

Haruna Mohammed, a deputy superintendent of police and public relations officer of the Bauchi state police command, disclosed that six out of the 25 injured persons had been treated and discharged, while the remaining 19 were responding to treatment at the Abubakar Tafawa Balewa Teaching Hospital (ATBUTH), Bauchi.

He also said three persons had been arrested for looting during the incident.

No group has claimed responsibility for the attacks but Boko Haram, which has unleashed a campaign of violence on the country since 2009, is being suspected.

Boko Haram released a new video on Sunday, threatening to increase the pace of its attacks.