The Borno Police Command reported that an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) explosion in Maiduguri led to the death of one man and injured 11 others with varying degrees of harm.
Police Commissioner Yusuf Lawal provided this update in a statement on Friday, August 2, 2024. He explained that the explosion occurred during a protest against poor governance at Deribe Junction near Federal Government Girls’ College Monguno Annex in the Bulumkutu area of Maiduguri.
Lawal noted that the injured were transported to the State Specialist Hospital Maiduguri for treatment, while the deceased’s body was sent for an autopsy. The police quickly deployed Explosive Ordnance Device personnel from Base 13 to secure the area around a nearby filling station.
However, some residents contradicted the official report, sharing a graphic video from the scene. They claimed that the four deceased were employees of A. A. Kime filling station at Bolori Junction in Maiduguri, who were shot dead by security forces when some protesters approached the station.
Lawyer Muhammad Adam confirmed that the victims were filling station staff, not protesters.
According to Daily Trust, officials at the petrol station, who identified the deceased as their workers, provided conflicting accounts of the incident.
Malam Musa, one of the attendants, stated that the victims were killed by an explosion. “They are still lying in a pool of their blood,” he told the publication, adding that he narrowly escaped injury.
In contrast, another anonymous source claimed that the victims were hit by stray bullets. “I was across from the filling station when the incident occurred. There was no explosion, just sporadic gunfire, and the four men fell immediately,” the source said.
