a bomb

The Borno Police Command on Sunday confirmed the death of four persons after an attempt by some suspected suicide bombers to infiltrate Maiduguri in Borno. Eight persons were said to have been injured in the attack.

The News Agency of Nigeria, NAN, reports that Mr Victor Isuku, the spokesman of the command said in a statement in Maiduguri that three bombers had attempted to infiltrate Maiduguri at about 9.00 p.m. on Saturday.

“At about 2100hrs of Saturday, three suicide bombers, a male and two female, attempted to infiltrate Maiduguri town through Umarari village in Molai general area.

“They were sighted and challenged by civilian Joint Task Force (JTF) member, a government-approved militia group,’’ Isuku stated.

He the bombers detonated the improvised explosive device strapped to their bodies while running in different directions and four persons died in the process.

“Four people, including a civilian JTF, a woman and her two children died while eight others sustained injuries’’, Isuku said.

The Boko Haram has killed more than 15,000 people since 2009 and forced some two million to flee their homes. In spite of the high casualty, it is still unclear what the group wants.

Of late, the Nigerian army, backed up by neighbours, has retaken most areas held by the group, the jihadists still operate in the area of Rann, slipping over the porous Cameroon border after attacks.