On Wednesday, at least 19 people were killed when an Improvised Explosive Device (IED), suspected to have been planted by Boko Haram insurgents, detonated at a local gathering spot in Kawuri village, Konduga Local Government Area, Borno State.
The explosion occurred around 8:05 p.m. at a tea joint where villagers had gathered for an evening chat, leaving many others injured.
This attack comes just three days after insurgents targeted a police station in Jakana town within the same Konduga LGA, killing a police officer and a woman while destroying two patrol vans.
According to a local government official, who requested anonymity, the exact circumstances of the blast are unclear, but it is suspected that the bomb was planted rather than being the result of a suicide attack. The official reported 19 fatalities and numerous injuries, with the wounded being transported to an undisclosed hospital in Maiduguri for treatment.
The incident occurred 24 hours after Shettima Mustapha, an accountant with the Local Education Authority in Damboa LGA, was killed when his vehicle struck an IED on the Maiduguri-Damboa-Biu highway.
Efforts to contact Police Public Relations Officer DSP Kenneth Daso for further comment were unsuccessful. This tragedy comes on the eve of a planned nationwide protest, which the government has warned could be exploited by hoodlums and terrorists.