Bomb blast in Mubi, Adamawa State: Police confirms no casualties, Army arrests 17 suspects

Map of Nigeria showing location of Mubi, Adamawa State

On 7 January, a bomb exploded at the centre of Mubi town in Adamawa State, but the Police Command in the state confirmed there were no casualties. The explosion occurred on Saturday night, barely 48 hours after unidentified gunmen believed to be members of the militant Islamist sect, Boko Haram, killed about 20 persons in the town.

Local sources said the explosion occurred near a military check point along Ahmadu Bello Way around 8.20 pm while an Army patrol vehicle was passing by. They said its impact damaged buildings as well as bill boards at the NNPC Filling Station, and also uprooted trees in the area. They added that the blast was followed by sporadic gunfire, which lasted for more than 40 minutes.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports the Police Public Relations Officer in the state, Mrs Altine Daniel, as saying that a band of gunmen engaged in sporadic shooting after detonating a bomb, but that “no causalities were recorded in the blast”.

Both military and political authorities have reacted to the incidents. The Public Relations Officer of the 23rd Armoured Brigade in Yola, Lt Victor Olukoya, said soldiers had arrested 17 suspects in connection with the bomb attack. Security authorities have also deployed a joint military and police team to patrol the town and protect lives and property.

The Adamawa State government has declared a dusk-to-dawn curfew in major towns across the state. The Commissioner for Information, Alhaji Abdurrahman Jimeta, said that the curfew affected major towns like Mubi, Numan, Michika and Gombi. Jimeta urged people across the state to remain calm and be law abiding, assuring them that government had taken necessary steps to contain the situation.

The state governor, Alhaji Murtala Nyako, has offered a monetary reward of N25 million to anyone that provides information that could lead to the arrest of the culprits. The Mubi Emirate Council has banned the use of motorcycles in Mubi and adjourning villages, in a bid to curtail the spate of gun attacks on residents.

However, NAN reports that in the wake of the attacks, hundreds of families have fled the town.