Lady in hijab suicide-bombs soldier in Gombe

The defence headquarters has explained the circumstances surrounding Sunday’s suicide bombing at the 301 Battalion, Gombe.

The director of defence information, Maj.-General Chris Olukolade, said in a statement issued in Abuja that troops at a security check-point at the entrance to the barrack had intercepted the bomber.

“Our men at a barrack entrance in Gombe intercepted a lady suicide bomber, while she was attempting to gain entry into the barracks.

“The lady suicide bomber primed herself with improvised explosive devices concealed under her Hijab.

“The troops, acting on an earlier tip-off that a terrorist group was plotting to attack barracks around Gombe using female suicide bombers, halted her.

“As she was being searched, the bomb detonated killing the lady.

“Unfortunately, one of the troops conducting the search also died, while another was wounded in the explosion,” Olukolade said in the statement.

Earlier, TheCable reported that two persons died after an explosive device reportedly went off prematurely.

According to a top security source in the state, the dead were a soldier and the suicide bomber — a woman — who was “scattered” by the blast.

If confirmed, it will be the first recorded case of a female suicide-bomber in Nigeria.

“The explosion occurred at about 11am along Military Quarter Guard along Biu Road in Gombe,” the source said.

“The woman had the explosive in her bag, but the thing went off prematurely. She was scattered by the explosion. Unluckily, she got a soldier as well.”

The source further told TheCable that although the woman hadn’t arrived her destination when the bomb went off, chances were high that the military quarters was her target.

Only three days ago in the same city, an armoured tank exploded in front of the residence of the governor, Alhaji Ibrahim Hassan Dankwambo, killing two people and injuring six instantly.

A security source had told TheCable that the explosion might have been a failed assassination attempt on the governor’s life, but an aide to the governor dismissed any such possibility, saying: “The armoured tank, we suspect, became too hot because of the weather condition. We think that was what led to the explosion.

“We suspect that the cooling system malfunctioned. Unfortunately, sensitive ammunition (such as grenade) is kept in the tank and this might have worsened the situation. The two people that died were inside the vehicle. They could not escape.”

There will now be doubts over the official account.

Meanwhile, Olukolade later confirmed the blast.

Olukolade told NAN that one soldier died while another was wounded by the explosion.

He however said normal activities had thereafter been ongoing at the barracks in Gombe where the incident occurred.

“Intelligence deduced from credible information earlier received on this plot confirms the vigilance of some members of the public,” Olukolade said.

NAN reported that the female bomber, riding on a motorcycle and on approaching the quarter-guard of the 301 Battalion, hugged a soldier.

This had led to the bomb exploding, and killing both of them.

The source said the explosion also injured other soldiers at the quarter-guard, and they were quickly rushed to the military hospital for treatment.

A NAN correspondent in Gombe reports that immediately the explosion occurred, soldiers cordoned off the road leading to the barracks.

Also, shops and other business centres which were opened at that time were hurriedly closed by their owners when the blast occurred, while many other people ran helter-skelter.

A resident of the area said he was in his house around 11.20 a.m. when he heard the blast.

He said he also heard soldiers shooting in the air, apparently to scare people.

The source said he saw some injured persons being conveyed in vehicles from the scene, while soldiers blocked the road and stopped people from going to the scene of the incident.