Barely 24 hours after the twin suicide bomb attacks that claimed 9 lives in Maiduguri, troops of the Nigerian Army on Sunday foiled an attempt by a suspected Boko Haram member to sneak into the Bakassi displaced persons camp with explosives.

According to a statement by army spokesperson, Sani Usman, a Colonel, the suspect, a male, was seen trying to enter the camp from the back through the defensive parapet dug to prevent such intrusion.

“The vigilant sentry sighted the bomber and laid in wait until the suicide bomber came close. The sniper instantly shot and killed the terrorists as he tried to force his way to the western flank of the IDP camp fence,” the statement read.

The explosive device did not go off, Usman said, prompting the deployment of a combined team of explosive ordinance device made up of soldiers and policemen to safely detonate the bomb.

Maiduguri-Bama had not witnessed suicide bombings for some months, a development that saw security measure relaxed a bit, including extension of curfew to 10pm.

However, in October alone, there have been three explosions and about 17 deaths, with the first happening three weeks ago at Muna Garage, a neighbourhood on the outskirts of Maiduguri, along Gamboru Ngala road.

The latest occurred yesterday, when two separate explosions, within 30 minutes of each other, went off at the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, depot and in front of the Bakassi IDPs camp.