By Musdapha Ilo, Maiduguri

A suicide bomber riding a tricycle on Saturday killed himself and three passers-by and injured three others as he unsuccessfully chased after his target, a bus that had just left a motor park in Maiduguri, Borno State capital.

The tricyclist had waited for the vehicle outside Borno Motor Garage, the biggest motor park in the state, tried to ram into the vehicle as it drove out but missed, and thus gave chase.

An eye witness, Abraham Mshelia, said after about a kilometre of futile chase, the tricycle exploded, killing three passers-by and injuring three others around 7.00am.

“I was at the motor park to board a vehicle when the explosion occurred. The park is near the SSS office and a tricycle was targeting a bus that just left the motor park but triggered off the explosion before the tricycle could get to bus. Four people including the bomber were killed,” Mshelia said.

The spate of suicide bombings by suspected Boko Haram members has recently increased, with states outside the North east targeted as well.

More than 300 people have been killed in the past one month, as Borno, Yobe, Plateau, Kaduna, and Kano states all witnessed suicide bombings.

President Muhammadu Buhari has made ending the insurgency his top priority, with 8, 000 troops from a multinational joint force ready to deploy at the end of the month to join the fight against insurgency.