
ABDULLAHI ISAH, Maiduguri
Following the gruesome Friday morning suicide bomb attack on a mosque in Maiduguri, the Borno State capital, a man, Mallam Audu, has told how he lost five of his neighbour as well as friends in the incident.
Mallam Audu also narrated how he narrowly escaped death in the attack of the mosque located in the Polo area behind Federal High Court, Maiduguri.
Audu who identified the attacker to be a man, insists the death toll from the mosque attack was well over the 10 reported by the foreign media or six by the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), as he was one of the first to reach the site of the incident.
According to Audu: “I can say 18 worshippers inside the mosque died when that male suicide bomber blew himself up and I believe several others were injured.”
“The male suicide bomber who came at about 4:45am when my neighbours were observing Subhi prayers detonated the bomb strapped on in his body.
“I was lucky to be alive today, as I woke up late and while trying to perform ablution in my house, I heard a loud noise and after some minutes I started hearing people shouting ‘help, help’. As I came out I saw many corpses including five of my neighbours and friends,” narrated Audu.
Confirming the incident, the information Officer of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), Ibrahim Abdulkadir said the suicide bomber killed six Muslim faithful when they were observing early morning prayers in the mosque in Polo area.
“A suicide bomber detonated an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) this early Friday morning killing 6 people in a mosque in Polo area, behind Federal High Court in Maiduguri metropolis.
“Rescue official have concluded rescue and search efforts, while the injured victims have been taken to hospitals within Maiduguri for treatment”, the NEMA spokesman stated.
Governor Kashim Shettima who visited the mosque to sympathize with the victims of the blast, was visibly angry and prayed that God in his infinite mercy grant those who lost their lives Janatul fid daus and those injured a quick recovery.
Earlier, hospital sources said the death toll from Friday morning’s suicide bomb attack on a Maiduguri mosque had reached over 10 with another 11 wounded.
No one has claimed responsibility for the attacks but Ibrahim blamed the Boko Haram movement, which has been trying to carve out a state in the northeast of Africa’s most populous country since 2009.
Meanwhile, two accomplices of the lone suicide bomber who Friday morning successfully attacked the mosque in Maiduguri, are currently on the run after escaping from the scene of the incident, a report from the area said.
“The explosion was carried out by a suspected lone suicide bomber whose two accomplices escaped, when some vigilant members of the community accosted them on their suspicious movements,” an eyewitness account said.