A Bus terminal popular called
Gombe-line park in Gombe metropolis of Gombe State went up in flames in the
early hours of Friday when a tripple explosion rocked the park.
The explosion left over 23 persons
dead and many others critically injured.
It also left over twelve 18-Seater
buses, some of which belonged to the State Government Transport Company called
Gombe line, completely destroyed.
It was gathered that explosives were
planted on a vehicle registered in Yobe State.
The Gombe State Police Commissioner,
Abdullahi Kudu while on a first hand inspection of the scene told Journalists
that the incident which occurred at about 10 am claimed the lives of nine
persons.
Similarly, the spokesman for the
National Emergency Management Agency, NEMA, Manzo Ezekiel, told AFP that
officials of the Agency confirmed five persons dead, fearing that the figure
could still be higher even as he said that about 34 people were wounded in the
attack.
On the steps already made by the
police, Kudu said that three suspected persons were apprehended while trying to
run away from the scene after parking a vehicle with Yobe State number plate,
suspected to have conveyed the explosives.
He said: “For now, three suspects
have been apprehended and we are reasonably suspecting they are the people who
brought in the Improvised Explosive Device (IED). It is either the vehicle is
parked laden. But we cannot determine that now until our EOD make their
investigation”.
Sources from Gombe told Saturday
Vanguard that the park had been cordoned off with a police tape while shops and
offices around the area had been closed.
They said that the development has
sent shivers down the spine of most residents of the town.
As at the time of filing this
report, the State Governor, Alhaji Ibrahim Dankwambo was yet to visit the
scene.
It will be recalled that explosion
also rocked the park sometimes last year.
Gombe shares a border with three
northeastern states under emergency rule since May 2013 because of the Boko
Haram uprising: Adamawa, Borno and Yobe.
The police chief said he believed
the suspected attackers had travelled together from Yobe, where the insurgents
are thought to be in control of several towns and cities.
The militants have claimed credit
for a series of bus station bombings this year, including two in April and May
on the outskirts of the capital Abuja that killed nearly 100 people.
An October 23 attack at a bus
station in Bauchi state, which also neighbours Gombe, killed five people, with
many again blaming Boko Haram.
Post a Comment