No fewer than 24 passengers and commuters were yesterday reported dead, while 46 people sustained varying degrees of injuries in an early morning explosion at Gombe Line Motor Park in Jeka Da Fari area of Gombe Metropolis.

The blast was said to have been from an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) planted by suspected Boko Haram sect members who drove into the park with a Yobe Line bus, according to Gombe State Police Commissioner Abdullahi Kudu Nma. Many other vehicles parked there were destroyed by the explosion.
Official figures said 8 people died, with 46 injured. But when our correspondent visited the hospital, sources insisted that 24 people lost their lives.

At the scene of the incident, the Police Commissioner said they have in custody three men suspected to have carried out the attack. Nma said: “We are reasonably suspecting they are the people who brought in the IED and we’re waiting for investigation results,” he said, adding that the police are working round the clock to ensure stability.
Nma also attributed the incident to some security lapses around the motor park, where he said that the police have been advising the authorities to always screen passengers and commuters.

According to Zakari Joji, Special Assistant to Governor Dankwambo, the incident happened in his presence. He said while they were seated and passengers were boarding vehicles to their various destinations, they heard a loud explosion at a place where Kano buses usually load passengers and people panicked and ran helter-skelter.  
Other witnesses told Weekly Trust that five people who were burnt beyond recognition were taken out, with a woman’s body parts strewn all over the area.
Adamu Balarabe survived the blast and is currently receiving treatment at Federal Teaching Hospital, Gombe. The motor park worker, who sustained an injury on his leg, said he was in the toilet when he heard a loud sound.

Governor Ibrahim Hassan Dankwambo had to cut short his official engagements in Abuja to rush back to Gombe. “What has happened has happened but I will continue to call on our people to be very vigilant and be very observant and I want people to go about their normal businesses as the situation is under control,” he said.
Governor Dankwambo also called on citizens to allow law enforcement agents to do their job, while he called on the perpetrators to come to the table to discuss a way out. He also pledged to take care of the medical bills of all those injured and to provide support to their families while they are in hospital.