By Musdapha Ilo, Maiduguri
Two female suicide bombers killed Sunday when the improvised explosive devices, IEDs, which they had strapped on their bodies were accidentally and prematurely detonated in Auno village, Borno State.
The incident, which occurred on Sunday afternoon in Konduga Local Government Area, about 15 kilometers from Maiduguri, the Borno state capital, also injured seven other persons.
According to reports, the suicide bombers, who were believed to be on mission to Maiduguri Monday Market where they intended to detonate the bombs, were waiting at Auno for a commercial vehicle to convey them to their destination when the IEDs exploded and ripped their bodies apart.
Modu Bukar, a young man who witnessed the incident, said that the bombs exploded at about 2:00 pm on Sunday, scattering the bodies of the suicide bombers, while seven persons injured by the explosion were rushed to Maiduguri General Hospital for treatment.
“The suicide bombers were said to have brought from Damaturu by one suspected Boko Haram terrorist who dropped them in Jajana and told them to take a bus to the next town, on reaching Auno they thought it was Maiduguri and they started asking about Maiduguri Monday Market.
“We believe their master dropped them in Jakana because he knows that it will be very difficult for them to beat security checkpoint and get entrance into the town,” he said.
A taxi driver, Mohammdu Abor, who claimed he drove through Auno on Sunday afternoon, told journalists that he saw mangled bodies of the suicide bombers by the roadside.
According to Abor, the residents of the village, though curious about the incident, stood afar from the bodies as they were apprehensive that they may still have un-detonated explosives on them.
The spokesman of youth vigilante group in Borno State, Jibrin Gunda confirmed the incident and assured that there would have been no way for the suicide bombers to penetrate the security cordon around Maiduguri as his team had intensified their vigilance in stop and search procedures.