TheCable

Suspected Boko Haram insurgents struck at a market inside 33 Army Artillery barracks on the outskirts of Maiduguri, capital of Borno state, on Wednesday.

A military source confirmed this to TheCable, saying the incident occurred around 9:30pm.

The source said suicide bombers sneaked into the barracks in a tricycle, and detonated their explosives at a relaxation spot.

“The attackers took advantage of the high influx into the mammy market as a result of the demolition of brothels in the city,” the source said.

“The Borno state government has destroyed brothels in the city centre, people now troop to the barracks which is still full of life. The suicide bombers sneaked in and struck within the crowd.”

Moruma Zannah, a member of the Civilian joint task force (CJTF), a local vigilance group, told TheCable that many people were killed while those who sustained injuries were evacuated to the Maiduguri Specialist Hospital.

“I cannot ascertain the number of dead people. We all ran for our dear life,” he told TheCable.

The authorities are yet to react to the attack which comes barely four days after 31 persons were killed while 84 sustained injuries in multiple suicide attacks in Damboa local government area of Borno.