Four people have been confirmed dead and ten others injured following a deadly bomb explosion on Wednesday afternoon along the volatile Damboa-Maiduguri road in Borno State.
The tragic incident occurred around 12:30 p.m. near Komala Village in Konduga Local Government Area when a pickup truck conveying passengers struck an improvised explosive device (IED) believed to have been planted by insurgents.
In a statement issued later in the day, the Borno State Police Command confirmed the incident, identifying the vehicle as an Isuzu pickup with registration number DAM 156 XA (Borno), en route from Damboa to Maiduguri.
“One Isuzu pickup vehicle with registration number DAM 156 XA (Borno), conveying passengers from Damboa to Maiduguri, on reaching Komala Village, Konduga Local Government Area, the vehicle struck an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) suspected to have been planted by Boko Haram/ISWAP terrorists,” the Police Public Relations Officer, ASP Kenneth Daso, stated.
“As a result of the explosion, four persons lost their lives, while ten others sustained various degrees of injuries,” he added.
Daso also confirmed that the bodies of the deceased and the injured victims had been transported to the State Specialist Hospital in Maiduguri. “The corpses of the deceased and the injured victims have been evacuated to the State Specialist Hospital, Maiduguri, for autopsy and medical treatment, respectively,” he said.
He further revealed that security personnel had moved swiftly to secure the area and prevent additional attacks. “Normalcy has been restored, Joint security teams have been drafted to the scene to prevent further attacks, while efforts are ongoing by Police EOD-CBRN to probe the scene,” Daso noted.
The Damboa-Maiduguri highway has long been plagued by attacks from Boko Haram and the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP). Just a few weeks ago, a similar explosion on the same route claimed the lives of seven people.
