Gunshots, explosions heard in Damaturu, Yobe State
- Details
- Category: Latest
- Saturday, 30 June 2012
- By Elombah.com
Update: Sounds of Gunshots, explosions are being reported in Damaturu, Yobe State on Saturday evening. Residents reported hearing several explosions and gunfire in Nyanya, a suburb in the heart of Damaturu, the Yobe state capital. It is not known at this time where is being targeted but state commissioner of Police, Mr. Patrick
Egbenife has told journalists that men of the Joint Task Force have been deployed to the troubled location and are trying to repel the attackers.
“Explosions and gunshots have been going on in this neighbourhood for over an hour,” said Abdullahi Musa, a civil servant. “We still don’t know what the target is because the shooting started shortly after curfew,” he added.
Another resident of the same area, a neighbourhood called Nyanya, offered a similar account.
“We are frightened due to the blasts and gunfire. We don’t know what is happening because we are indoors… We pray we stay safe,” said Safiya Mahmud, a housewife.
Separate attacks were also reported in two other Damaturu neighbourhoods, but details were not immediately available.
The Damaturu explosions came as the Plateau State Police Command yesterday foiled another terrorist attack in the state as it uncovered and detonated a bomb planted under Makare Bridge at Jol-Hoss village of Riyom Local Government Area of the state following a tip-off by members of the public..
Disclosing this in Jos, the state capital, the state Police Public Relations Officer, Mr. Emmanuel Abuh, said at about 2am yesterday, the state police command deployed an anti-bomb squad led by ASP Abel Mbibi to the village, where they recovered the bomb, adding that there was no casualty and no damage was done to any property.
Abuh also said that no arrest had been made but assured the citizens of the state that the Police was on top of the situation.
He appealed to the people of the state to always volunteer credible information to the police.
Meanwhile, the police has also allayed fears that there may be bomb explosion today , saying the Police and other security agencies were not leaving any stone on turned to ensure a hitch-free Sunday.
But an eye witness from Jol-Hoss village, Mr. Kim , said one of the bombs was actually detonated but did not injure anyone. He said in scampering for safety , many parents abandoned their children and homes and escaped into the nearby forest in the dead of the night, as they were gripped by the fear generated by the vibration from the blast.
