Over 40 Football Fans Feared Dead At Mubi Explosion, Two Suspects Arrested

An explosion at a bar that was screening a televised football match located near a major military base in Mubi, Adamawa State, killed and injured over 40 people. Two people suspected in the bombing were arrested. 

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The explosion happened yesterday, June 1, at a popular relaxation centre, Kabang, usually visited by both civilians and military patrons. For now, at least 14 people have been confirmed dead and over 40 may have lost their lives too.

Adamawa Police Command as well as the 23rd Armoured Brigade of the Nigerian Army, Yola, confirmed the bomb blast. And the Command’s spokesman, Mallam Othman Abubakar, reported that the explosion happened at about 6 p.m. It has not been determined whether the victims were soldiers or civilians.

Meanwhile, Maj.-Gen. Chris Olukolade, Director, Defence Information, stated that two suspects had been arrested in connection with the blast. However, one of them later died in the hospital following an injury he sustained during the attack.

“There has been a bomb explosion at a football field this evening (yesterday) and so far more than 40 people have been killed,” said the officer who requested anonymity, in Mubi, which has seen previous attacks by Boko Haram insurgents.

The wounded have been evacuated and are receiving treatment at the Mubi Cottage Hospital, Mubi, he said.

The facility is not far away from the headquarters of the Special Operations Battalion (SOB) of the Nigerian army in Mubi. It is worth noting that the Battalion is involved in the Nigerian government’s counter-offensive against Boko Haram’s attacks.

Soldiers based in Mubi frequently join civilians to eat, drink and dance at the watering hole; military commanders generally warned soldiers not to stay at the joint past 4 p.m.

AFP news agency quoted one of the police officers as saying the bomb struck a crowd at a football match, and dozens may have died. Reuters news agency quoted sources as saying that the victims had been watching a televised, not live, football match in a bar.

Last week a botched suicide bombing that was meant to target an open air viewing of a football match in the central Nigerian city of Jos killed three people.

In recent weeks, Boko Haram has carried out deadly attacks in the northeast Nigerian states of Adamawa, Borno and tone, despite the Federal Government’s declaration of a state if emergency in the three states.

Source: BBC News

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