No fewer than 40 people, including five soldiers and a local hunter, were reported to have been killed following a bomb explosion on Thursday morning around Mararaba-Mubi area of Adamawa State.
Eyewitness told newsmen in Yola, the state capital, that a combined team of the military and local hunters patrolling the area after they had successful recaptured Mubi from the insurgents were mostly affected.
It was learnt that the bomb planted by the insurgents exploded and killed the 40 people instantly.
According to the eyewitness, the scene of the blast was a busy area where people returning to the town after the recaptured of Mubi gathered to do one business or the other.
The source added that the explosive might have been planted by members of the Boko Haram on the eve of the day and it went off while people, including soldiers, gathered in the morning to strategise on their next line of action.
According to the eyewitness, who spoke to newsmen on the telephone, the military had converted the venue of the blast to a checkpoint, since there was always heavy presence of people at the spot most of the time.
“My house is some metres from the scene of the incident. I stood outside my compound, watching the suburb. And all of a sudden, I heard a loud bang which shook the entire surroundings.
“The few people that were returning to the area started fleeing and the area was immediately cordoned off by the military,” he maintained.
The explosion prompted the military authorities to declare the area “a no go place” and advised returning villagers and passersby to be extra cautious along the routes.
The authorities also cautioned the people to be wary of strange objects and polythene bags within their vicinity, advising that they might be explosives fashioned out to look attractive for unknown victims.
Meanwhile, hundreds of local hunters keeping vigil with the military in the recovered areas from the insurgents in Adamawa State have vowed to ensure that they will chase the sect members out of the area.
The hunters, who were returning to the recaptured areas of Mubi and its environs, told newsmen on Thursday in Yola that their major pre-occupation was to ensure that the area was completely secured for the inhabitants to return to their homes.
The leader of the hunters, Young Moris, pledged that they would do all they could to ensure that Michika and Madagali were rid of the insurgents.
On the constraints faced by the group, Moris lamented that considering their personal sacrifices to their motherland, the state government’s gesture was not encouraging, especially in the area of mobility and feeding.
He advised politicians in the corridors of power to stop sabotaging the efforts of the government and stop playing politics with the insurgents.
Posted by kenics and team
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