Two die in Gombe Army Barracks bombing
Director of Defence Information, Major General Chris Olukolade, has confirmed that a bomb exploded at a Nigerian Army barracks in Gombe on Sunday.
Olukolade told the News Agency of Nigeria in a telephone interview from Abuja on Sunday that one soldier died while another was wounded by the explosion.
He however said normal activities had thereafter been ongoing at the barracks in Gombe where the incident occurred.
“Intelligence deduced from credible information earlier received on this plot confirms the vigilance of some members of the public,’’ Olukolade said.
NAN reports that a suspected female suicide bomber also died when the bomb exploded at a military quarter-guard in Gombe.
The Public Relations Officer of the Gombe State Police Command, Mr. Fwaje Atahiri, a DSP, had earlier told NAN that he heard of the incident but did not have details.
NAN gathered that the female bomber, riding on a motorcycle and on approaching the quarter-guard of the 301 Battalion, hugged a soldier.
This had led to the bomb exploding, and killing both of them.
The source said the explosion also injured other soldiers at the quarter-guard, and they were quickly rushed to the military hospital for treatment.
A NAN correspondent in Gombe reports that immediately the explosion occurred, soldiers cordoned off the road leading to the barracks.
Also, shops and other business centres which were opened at that time were hurriedly closed by their owners when the blast occurred, while many other people ran helter-skelter.
A resident of the area, who did not want his name mentioned, told NAN he was in his house around 11.20am when he heard the blast.
He said he also heard soldiers shooting in the air, apparently to scare people.
The source said he saw some injured persons being conveyed in vehicles from the scene, while soldiers blocked the road and stopped people from going to the scene of the incident.
