TheCable

Several persons lost their lives in Mubi, Adamawa State, following a blast that occurred Sunday evening.

Police confirmed 14 deaths while the military put the figure at 18.

Adamawa is one of the three states under emergency rule.

A senior military officer confirmed the blast to TheCable but said he could not give casualty figure because rescue operations were hampered by darkness.

The blast occurred at a recreational area close to a military base in Mubi.

A resident of Mubi who spoke with TheCable afterwards claimed that the blast occurred “a few minutes before 6pm” at Mubi 2 Primary School football field.

“A football match was ongoing at the field,” said the lady, who spoke anonymously because she is a teacher at the school.

“Most of the people who died were the spectators watching the football match.”

On the casualty toll, she said: “No one knows exactly how many people died in all, but from the bodies reported to have been scattered all over, they could not have been less than 50.”

The Adamawa police command’s PRO, DSP Usman Abubakar, confirmed the incident.

Major-Gen. Chris Olukolade, director, defence information, told NAN that two suspects had been arrested in connection with the blast.

He, however, said that one of them later died in the hospital following an injury he sustained in the attack.

A resident of the town, who simply identified himself as Solomon, told NAN that the explosion occurred in Kabang area of the town in Mubi South Local Government Area.

“The explosion occurred at about 6 p.m. in Kabang area where there is concentration of beer palour operators.

In the three months, the military had imposed a 7 pm to 5am curfew on the town following incessant attacks by the insurgents.

Boko Haram is the main suspect in the blast, coming two weeks within a spate of bombings in Kano and Jos (pictured).