WITHIN NIGERIA highlights a major event that occured on April 30 in the history of this country, Nigeria in an effort to create awareness for education and enlightenment purpose.
On this day, April 30 in 2012, a suicide attack targeting a senior police official’s convoy on Monday killed 11 people and wounded 20, a rescue source said, with the senior officer said to be unharmed.
According to the police, the attack which happened in Jalingo, the Taraba state capital saw a motorcycle ram into the police convoy amid a wave of similar violence attributed to Islamist group Boko Haram.
Police Anti-bomb officers work near the engine of the Jeep used by the suicide bomber that ravaged ThisDay Newspapers in Abuja on April 26, 2012.
Authorities provided an official death toll of three people, including two passers-by and the bomber, with a police motorcyclist wounded.
However, the rescue official put the death toll at 11, including a policeman, with 20 wounded.
“Eleven people died,” the rescue official said on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to talk to the press.
“One policeman was among them. There are 20 injured.”
Ibiang Mbaseki, police spokesman while describing the attack said “a bomber on a motorcycle rammed into the police rider (motorcycle escort). The bomb went off. The windshield of the (state) police commissioner’s car was shattered.”
There was no immediate claim of responsibility and police declined to name any suspects, though the attack was similar to others carried out by Islamist group Boko Haram.
“For now, we are not mentioning anybody as suspects,” said Mbaseki. “An investigation will be carried out to determine who was responsible.”
Taraba state has not been known to be targeted by Boko Haram, though the state borders others that have been repeatedly hit by such violence.
