Explosion kills seven, injures 20 at Yola IDP camp

The National Emergency Management Agency on Friday confirmed a bomb explosion at a school at the Malkohi Camp of the internally displaced persons in Yola, Adamawa State.

The agency said seven persons were killed while 20 were injured as a result of the explosion that occurred around 10.50am.

It added that seven of the injured had been treated and discharged at the Federal Medical Centre in Yola while the remaining 13 persons, including four NEMA officials, were still on admission at the hospital.

The explosion would be the first of such attack on an IDP camp in the North-East.

Though no information had been made available about the perpetrators of the act, there are indications it might have been carried out by the Boko Haram insurgent group.

Boko Haram has in a six-year period displaced thousands of people in the North-East, while killing other thousands as a result of its activities.

Former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar said on Twitter that he was saddened by the incident and condemned those behind the attack.

He said, “I’m deeply saddened by the bombing incident at the Yola IDP camp today. Only persons with hearts of evil could do this. The Yola IDP camp is the largest in Nigeria, and is a refuge to the thousands of people who fled the insurgency from mostly Borno and Yobe.

“Many people I know were working as volunteers in the camp, including staff and students of American University of Nigeria, who sustained minor injuries from the blast.

“Today’s attack is an attempt to break the spirits of the people who came to seek refuge. The perpetrators will know no peace. We refuse to be broken. We will win the war against terrorism. We shall overcome!”

Adamawa State Commissioner for Information, Mr. Ahmed Sajoh, also told journalists that seven persons were killed by the explosion.

It was learnt from one of the camp’s residents, Abubakar Sani, that two female suicide bombers detonated the bomb that led to the killings.

Sajoh, however, said the state governor, Muhammadu Bindow, had directed the state emergency management agency to foot the medical bills of the injured.

He said among those killed was a toddler, adding that those on humanitarian service were not spared by the suicide bombers.