A bomb blast at the internally displaced persons camp in Yola, Adamawa State capital, has killed seven people and injured 20 others, including four officials of the National Emergency Management Agency, NEMA, the relief agency has confirmed.

According to the agency’s spokesperson, Sani Datti, the bomb, which went off around 11am, was planted in a tent.

“Among the injured seven (7) were treated and discharged while thirteen (13) persons including four (4) NEMA officials are still receiving treatment at Federal Medical Center, Yola,” Datti said.

The bomb attack came as a surprise because the camp is not easy to get to as a result of its closeness to a military cantonment and presence of soldiers both on the way to the camp and at the entrance.

Also, it is the first place where refugees deported from Cameroun are processed before they are transported to Maiduguri or relocated in the state.

However, a security agent familiar with the camp explained that it is difficult to detect someone carrying explosives, especially with the influx of refugees from Cameroun.

“With the large number of people coming into the camp at once, someone can easily come in with explosives and you won’t know. For example, an old woman can use her old age to hide something underneath her and you may even be the one to help her alight from the vehicle, not bothering to check her,” the source, who did not want to be mentioned, told our reporter on phone.