Bomb kills soldier, four others in Biu

The Nigeria Army has confirmed that a Soldier and four other people were killed when a tricycle stepped on a buried landmine in Biu near a military checkpoint.

A statement issued by the acting Director Army Public Relations (DAPR) Col. Sani Usman said the incidence happened on Sunday morning when a tricycle, popularly known as “Keke NAPEP, unknowingly stepped on an Improvise Explosive Device (IED) planted by the side of Biu -Damboa road close to a military checkpoint at the outskirts of Biu town, Borno State.

“Unfortunately, the IED exploded instantly killing 4 persons comprising of a woman with her baby and 2 other male adults. Three (3) other persons were injured including a soldier and they were immediately evacuated to Biu General Hospital. We regret to state that the injured soldier also died at the hospital”.

Although initial investigation indicates that the explosive device buried in the ground, was planted long before now, when the insurgents were in control of nearly the entire area.

The statement reads “the general area has been cordoned off and Explosive Ordinance Device (EOD) team from Forward Operation Base (FOB) in Buratai have been mobilized to carryout further search of the area.

“Preliminary investigations shows that the IED was buried a long time ago undetected. It exploded when the tricycle erroneously stepped on it.”

While consoling the families of the victims, Usman said the “unfortunate development has brought to the fore, the need for more security consciousness and vigilance among all. We would like to reiterate that the explosion would not deter us from seeing to the end of Boko Haram terrorists wherever they might be hiding through our ongoing clearance operations.

“We want to use this opportunity to solicit for more cooperation from the members of the public to enable us to succeed in the fight against the remnants of these criminal elements going by the appellation “Boko Haram terrorists”. It said.