A suicide bomber on Sunday found his way
into the City of David Parish of the Redeemed Christian Church of God
in Potiskum, Yobe State, and detonated an explosive device which led to
the death of five worshippers and the bomber.
One other person also sustained injuries.
A source said the dead bomber, suspected
to be a member of the terrorist Islamic sect, Boko Haram, entered the
church auditorium during Sunday service with the Improvised Explosive
Device strapped to his body.
The source said the bomber headed for the altar as soon as he entered the church.
“Before he (the suicide bomber) could be
stopped, he has detonated the bomb strapped to him, which led to the
death of six people; the suicide bomber, the pastor of the church, Dotun
Okerinola; and four others,” the source told one of our correspondents
on the phone.
The Police Public Relations Officer,
Toyin Gbadegesin, an assistant superintendent of police, who confirmed
the incident to one of our correspondents, said “A male suicide bomber
at about 10 o’clock this morning detonated a bomb at Redeemed Church, in
the Jigawa area of Potiskum, killing five persons including the suicide
bomber.
He also said another female worshipper
in the church sustained serious injuries in the attack and that the
victim was being attended to at the Potiskum General Hospital.
A source in the hospital, who pleaded
anonymity, said five bodies were brought there from the scene of the
attack and that “one woman who sustained serious injuries at the scene
is receiving treatment.”
Reuters quoted a Red Cross
official as saying that the casualties would have been higher if not
that worshippers were just trooping into the church when the bomb went
off.
“People were just going to the church
when the bomber entered, otherwise the casualty figure would have been
higher,” said Red Cross official, Hassan Alhaji Muhammad, who reportedly
visited the scene of the explosion on the outskirts of Potiskum.
In Jos, twin bomb blasts occurred late on Sunday with many deaths recorded.
As of the time of this report, the
actual casualty figure could not be ascertained but an eyewitness said
he counted no fewer than 15 bodies at the scene of the first explosion
at a restaurant opposite the Bauchi Road campus of the University of
Jos.
The explosion went off at about 9.15 pm.
The second explosion was also said to
have occurred about 15 minutes later at a mosque near Yan Tyre (tyre
market) area of Dilimi junction, along same Bauchi Road.
The leader of the Izalla sect, Sheikh
Yahaya Jingir, normally performs the Tafsir (breaking of fast) at the
mosque hence it always attract large number of Muslims.
“We have counted 15 bodies that died
instantly from the first blast; we are now moving to the scene of the
second one at the mosque. But the soldiers are asking us to go back
because the casualty figure is high,” an eyewitness told one of our
correspondents in Jos Sunday night.
The Police Public Relations Officer in
Plateau State, Emmanuel Abuh, who confirmed the twin blasts, said that
men of the anti-bomb squad had been dispatched to the area. He said that
the exact casualty figure and the extent of damage could not be
ascertained until the men are able to clear the area.
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