CRIME NEWS

Four female suicide bombers die in Borno attack

Four female suicide bombers attacked Mafa, a town in Borno State, on Monday, killing a member of a youth vigilance group.
The spokesperson for the National Emergency Management Authority in the North-East, AbdulKadir Ibrahim, told one of our correspondents on the telephone that the attack was targeted at some members of the youth vigilance group.
He said when emergency workers got to the security checkpoint, mangled bodies of the suicide bombers and the body of a member of the youth vigilance group were seen.
Ibrahim said, “There was suicide bombing attacks at Mafa checkpoint in the early hours of today, December 16, 2015 by four female suicide bombers.
“They targeted the civilian JTF stationed at the checkpoint. Five of the civilian JTF were injured, one died and the four suicide bombers were all dead.”
He added that all the five injured members of the youth vigilance group were taken to the Borno State Specialist Hospital, Maiduguri, where they were receiving treatment.
But the Nigerian Army on Wednesday said that its troops intercepted four female suicide bombers of the Boko Haram sect in Mafa, near Maiduguri.
The Acting Director, Army Public Relations, Col. Sani Usman, said in a statement on Wednesday that the four female suicide bombers were intercepted by the vigilance youth group known as the Civilian JTF at a checkpoint 25 kilometres east of Maiduguri, the Borno State capital.
He said that the suicide bombers, who were trying to bypass a military checkpoint, were made to take the right road by the youths during which one of them detonated her suicide vest and killed one of the vigilance group members.
The other three were gunned down by the vigilance group members.
Usman said that one of the youths was killed and four others sustained varying degrees of injuries during the explosion.
The Acting Army spokesperson said that the Nigeria Police Explosive Ordinance Device team detonated the bombs in their custody.
“Today at about 7.30am four female suicide bombers were intercepted by troops and Borno Youths Empowerment Scheme, otherwise known as Civilian JTF, ahead of a checkpoint which is about 25km outskirts of the city of Maiduguri.
“Preliminary investigation revealed that the suicide bombers were earlier observed trying to bypass a military checkpoint through a close by village before they were ordered to take the right road. However, a few metres before the checkpoint, one of the bombers swiftly detonated her vest. The vigilant troops gunned down the other three suicide bombers before they could carry out their nefarious acts.
“Sadly, one of the Civilian JTF member lost his live and four other persons sustained varying degrees of injuries. The Nigeria Police Explosive Ordinance Device team in the area safely detonated the unexploded Improvised Explosive Device carried by the other suicide bombers,” the statement read in part.
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