(Reuters) – A bomb exploded at a bus station in northern Nigeria’s Bauchi state overnight, killing at least five people and wounding 12, police said, Reuters News is reporting.
Meanwhile, according to a report from Vanguard said that said; “We had a huge blast at exactly 9:45 pm (2045 GMT)… We realised it had come from the bus station,” said Musa Babale, a resident of the town of Azare in Bauchi state where the blast occurred.
“The whole place was a mess,” he said.
“We found the place cordoned off by soldiers and police,” said witness Mauzu Ibrahim. “From where I stood I saw bodies being put in a van.”
Other witnesses also reported seeing casualties but it was not immediately possible to estimate the number and emergency workers were not available to comment.
While the cause of the blast remained unclear, Bauchi has been one of the hardest hit areas in Boko Haram’s five-year uprising against the Nigerian state.
Reuters reports that the blast, which struck the town of Azare late on Wednesday, is likely to be blamed on Islamist Boko Haram militants, casting further doubt on government reports that it had reached a temporary ceasefire with the rebels in order to release 200 schoolgirls they are holding hostage.
Police did not comment on who was behind the attack.
Source: Reuters/Vanguard
