NIGERIA: Boko Haram bombs bridge in Borno

Some gunmen suspected to be members of the Boko Haram sect have bombed the popular Madafuma bridge linking Biu-Damboa- Maiduguri federal road in Borno State, Northern Nigeria.

It was learnt that the gunmen had on Saturday planted Improvised Explosive Devices, under the bridge.

The action, sources on Sunday said, left motorists and passengers stranded.

It will be recalled that there has been frequent attacks on the bridge, which has made most people in Biu, Garkida, Numan and Shani to take alternative route to Borno State.

The bombing of the bridge according to Mallam Musa Yakubu took place at about 2am when residents of the area were asleep.

He said, “We heard a loud bang on Saturday and on Sunday morning when we gathered in Madafuma village. We later found out that the bridge linking us with Biu Local Government Area and Dara Girau had been blown off, forcing motorists heading to Maiduguri from Biu especially long vehicles to make a U-turn back to Gombe. Small vehicles had to manage the remaining thin portion which was not seriously affected by the blast, but it is very risky.”

Trucks loaded with yams from Taraba and Benue states reportedly returned to Biu on Sunday due to the incident.

Meanwhile, a person, who claimed to be a mad man, was on Sunday caught with explosive substances around one of the hostels at the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Osun State, on Sunday.

The arrested person identified himself as Adedayo Rasaki Daniel.

The man was caught with explosive materials including petrol, wires, stove, and newspapers at about 1pm by the students of the OAU.

The Public Relations Officer of the university, Mr. Biodun Olarewaju, told our correspondent on the telephone that necessary steps had been taken to confirm if the arrested person was insane or not.

He said, “What happened was that our security unit apprehended somebody, whose movement was suspicious. While they searched him, a stove, old newspapers copies, and some liquid mixture suspected to be kerosene, petrol or so were found on him.

“From our observation, the young guy may not be ok. We don’t want to leave anything to chances because of the security challenges in the country and that is why we handed him over to the police. We want the police to use their expertise to check if the guy is mentally ok or not. I wish to put it on record that our security officers are ever vigilant, and we don’t want any havoc here and machinery has been put in place to safeguard lives and property.”