Five people died and 19 were wounded after a bomb, suspected of being an improvised explosive device, detonated in a beer hall in Taraba State on Tuesday, April 19.
The attack took place at about 3pm inside a crowded market in the Ardo Kola Local Government Area of the state.
Ahmad Umar Gassol, a journalist in Taraba, told RNI that this was the first time such an incident had taken place in the state.
He said: “Two men entered the drinking hole, one of whom was carrying a black leather bag. They asked for a beer and shortly after they were attended to, they were nowhere to be seen. Immediately afterwards, a blast shattered through the room. People started running in all directions to get out of the bar. But three died instantly at the scene.
“Angry youths ran out of the drinking hole after the suspects. They managed to catch one of them and they beat him to death. The other one escaped.”
He said security operatives arrived at the bar and picked up the three bodies. It was then that the found another person had died from his wounds. There were body parts scattered around the bar.
Authorities confirmed that 19 people were wounded. Those who were severely wounded were rushed to the Federal Medical Centre in Taraba. The rest were taken to various other health facilities to receive treatment.
Umar Gassol said: “Early this morning [Wednesday, April 20] a woman, who had been severely wounded, died in hospital, bringing the number of dead victims to five. Unfortunately, she still has not been identified. The other dead people have been identified.”
Once the police and other security officials were finished inspecting the bar, a number of people returned to get back their belongings, which were still among some of the body parts.
Reuters reported Usman Abdullahi, the police spokesman for Taraba, as saying that the blast in the rural Iware community occurred on Tuesday at a drinking spot in a section of a busy market, leaving three dead and more than a dozen people with injuries.
“It is suspected to have been caused by an improvised explosive device that detonated. Investigations are ongoing,” Abdullahi told Reuters.
No group has claimed responsibility for the attack.
AISHA SD JAMAL
