The Borno State Police Command has confirmed that 20 persons were killed this afternoon in a bomb attack that rocked the popular Maiduguri Monday market.

The command spokesperson, Mr Gideon Jibrin, who confirmed the attack and casualty figure to reporters in Maiduguri, also said 18 others sustained various degrees of injuries.

He said 20 people, including the suicide bomber, died in the attack which occurred around 12:30pm Local time.

Jibrin said in a text message sent to reporters: “20 persons were killed in the attack including the female suicide bomber with 18 others injured at the market.”

It was gathered that the female suicide bomber attacked the section of the market where chickens were sold. The section of the market was immediately cordoned off by security forces.

There are indications that the death toll of the market attack may, however, rise as rescue team continued to carry out rescue mission at the site of the blast.

In neighbouring Yobe State, two people were killed after a bomb went off at the Potiskum Divisional Police Station. Potiskum is the largest commercial town in Yobe State and located 100km west of Damaturu, the state’s capital.

Residents said a suspected bomber was arrested in a Saloon Golf Car around the Potiskum main market today and was taken to the Divisional Police Station located in the heart of Potiskum town when the blast went off within the premises of the police station.

Top security personnel of the command, who requested that he should not be mentioned because he was not authorised to speak on the issue, told Channels Television that “a suspected suicide bomber in a Saloon Golf car laden with explosive devices was arrested and brought to the Police station for investigation and when the car was being parked within the premises of the station, the blast went off around 3:15pm, local time, killing two people on the spot.”

The source further disclosed that one of those killed was a police inspector serving in the command while the other was a resident. The police command is yet to confirm the incident.

No group has claimed responsibility for the explosion, but the Boko Haram sect is believed to have carried out the attack.

Potiskum has witnessed several suicide bomb attacks in the recent past. Two of the most recent suicide bombing attacks were the killing of students of Government Science School Potiskum while on assembly ground and an attack on Muslim faithful on procession for the Ashurah Day Celebration which killed a number of them. Both attacks happened in October and November 2014.

•Pieced together from separate reports in Channels TV.

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