Three suicide attacks were launched to kill over 35 people in Gwoza, Borno, including children and women.
The attack was reported as the deadliest since a decade ago, when the Boko Haram terrorists overran the town and hoisted their flag, turning it into their ‘caliphate’ headquarters.
It took months of military operations to regain control of the town, and even years to resettle people displaced as a result of the attack.
The Saturday attack was the deadliest and here is how it occurred.
How it happened
Our reporter who has been following the incident and developments around it spoke to several eyewitnesses, including injured victims.
On Saturday, after a wedding fatiha, family and friends gathered for a reception at about 1:00 pm at Cross / Mararraba Area, which was where the first explosion occurred.
The reception had many people in attendance, being that the groom, Suleman Mohammed Musa-Kano, popularly known as Made, is a very popular person among the youth of Gwoza.
At about 2:00pm, when the reception was winding down, friends were taking turns to snap photos, to record and keep memories of the event—but which now ended up becoming a batch of the sad, dark and depressing horror for them and their families.
A group of friends were already lined up for a photo shoot, when a lady, along with her child, approached them. She begged them for what to eat, which is not uncommon in wedding receptions as there is likelihood for leftovers.
One of them, Lawan Ishaku, aka Mal. Abba, now late, offered her N100, so that she would excuse them.
She approached another man, known to YEN NG at the moment as Chairmo, also late, and grabbed his flowing gown.
Before anyone made sense of what she was doing, everyone was thrown apart.
One of our sources, who was both a victim and eyewitness, said he didn’t know what followed after that.
‘I only woke up to see myself in the hospital, with bandages all over my body,’ he said.
The second bomb
Minutes after the first bomb, families of almost everyone who knew there could be a family member at the reception, rushed to the scene to ascertain if they were alive and fine, if alive.
Seven were reportedly dead at the spot, including the bomber and her child. Several others were injured.
Mal. Abba who gave the suicide bomber money was among her victims.
But as if that was not already too much, the terrorists mobilized to the venue of the funeral of his funeral and launched another suicide attack.
There was a reason they targeted his funeral. People who knew him said he was very popular and friendly.
Naturally, it was going to draw a huge crowd, which is why most people spoken to by our reporters suspect that the perpetrators know the community very well.
In their aim to hit a soft target and cause maximum damage, they equally struck at the funeral, with hundreds of sober, mournful attendants, killing and severely injuring several people. At least 13 have been so far killed.
The second attack was the deadliest of the four.
The third and fourth explosions
The terrorists did not stop at that. They made their way to the hospital, knowing that injured victims would be evacuated for emergency treatment. However, the mission failed, as only the bomber got killed, with a few reported mildly injured.
A fourth blast followed after a 24-hour curfew was imposed across the town.
Still thirsty of blood, the terrorists yet again targeted the townspeople who were rushing home in compliance with the curfew order.
Equally, three persons, including a soldier and two members of the Civilian JTF were killed. One person was also reported injured.
These attacks, however, only emphasize that the terrorists are no longer capable of launching large scale attacks. It only calls for more vigilance from the public.
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