Wednesday 17th January was a bloody day in Muna Garage in Maiduguri, Borno State, as the dreaded terror group struck
The massive attack by the four suicide bombers which claimed their lives, equally left 10 others dead and 65 persons injured, according to the National Emergency Management Agency.
The massive explosion was heard over Maiduguri, the birthplace of Boko Haram at about 5pm, which sent panic to many residents of the troubled city.
A statement by the spokesman for NEMA in the North-East, Abdulkadir Ibrahim, said, “Emergency response team comprising NEMA, BOSEMA and the Red Cross have responded to a suicide bombing incident which occurred around Muna Garage along the Mafa Dikwa Road in Maiduguri, Borno State.”
He added, “Sixty-five injured people were given first aid and transported to hospitals while 10 others lost their lives. Preliminary reports indicate that four female suicide bombers were responsible for the blast.The incident occurred at about 17.05 this (Wednesday) evening.”
Ibrahim said, “More details will be provided by security agencies in due course.”
Meanwhile, a vehicle workshop of the Boko Haram terrorists in the Sambisa area of Borno State has been uncovered and bombed by the Nigerian Air Force in an air strike conducted on Monday.
The NAF Director of Public Relations and Information, Air Vice Marshal Olatokunbo Adesanya, stated this on Wednesday in a release in Abuja, noting that scores of Boko Haram terrorists found in the workshop were killed in the strike.
Our correspondent learnt that an air force intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance aircraft discovered the workshop and found several vehicles stationed by the insurgents.
A “remotely piloted aircraft” was said to have thereafter destroyed the workshop.
The strike, which resulted in the destruction of vehicles, reportedly killed the terrorists.
The NAF’s spokesman, Adesanya, who confirmed the air interdiction, said, “The air force remote piloted aircraft was detailed to conduct armed reconnaissance in search of the vehicles and terrorists at the location, which was apparently a workshop.
“The aircraft discovered the terrorists’ motorcycles and vehicles, including a commander’s vehicle. It also saw the terrorists moving intermittently within the targeted area. The subsequent air strike resulted in the immediate destruction of the vehicles, killing all the terrorists. No survivor was seen scampering from the location after the impact.”
On its Mi-17 helicopter which crashed last Monday in the North-East, the air force said its board of inquiry investigating the incident had yet to submit its report.
When our correspondent reached out on Wednesday, Adesanya said in a text message, “The Board of Inquiry has not yet submitted its report.”
It had been reported last Tuesday that the Mi-17 helicopter crashed in the North-East during a counter-Boko Haram insurgency operation.
Although the military said the helicopter suffered significant damage, it noted that no life was lost.
The air force had added that the Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar, directed the constitution of a board of inquiry to determine the cause of the incident.
