No fewer than 50 people lost their lives, and many others were injured, in a twin blast at Gombe central market on Thursday evening, the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports.
An eye witness, Malam Musa Mohammed, who is an orange seller, told NAN that the first bomb exploded at exactly 5:20 pm, and seconds later, and a few meters away, a second one went off.
According to him, the number of dead bodies he saw was about 50, though many of these were in pieces.
A member of the Nigeria Red Cross, who pleaded anonymity, also told NAN that the emergency team had counted 48 bodies, and had deposited them at the mortuaries of the Specialist Hospital and the Federal Teaching Hospital, both in Gombe.
Confirming the incidence to newsmen, Mr Kudu Nma, the Gombe State commissioner of police, said there was a bomb blast, either from a suicide bomber, or from an IED kept somewhere.
According to Nma, the bomb exploded at the central market, Sabon Layi, at the section for the sale of clothes and shoes.
“People were busy shopping, preparatory to sallah festival,”, he said, adding that the number of the dead had not been ascertained.
“As you can see, people are busy trying to save the lives of the injured; for now, we cannot tell you the number that have died”.
He said the police had cordoned off the area to prevent looting by hoodlums.
Nma called on the public to continue to maintain vigilance, and report any suspecious movement or person to the security agencies.
