Two bomb blasts hit Gombe on Sunday, killing the bomber and four others, a resident Abubakar Ibrahim said.
Police Public Relations Officer of the state command, Fwaje Atajiri, confirmed the bomb attacks but said investigation was ongoing.
The first of the blasts, which occurred within an interval of five minutes, went off at the entrance gate of the old Gombe market in the heart of the town around 2.50pm while the second took place at the timber market, which is directly behind the 301 Artillery Regiment Quarter Guard of the Nigerian Army.
According to Kumo, who witnessed the blast at the old Gombe market, the blast claimed the lives of a man and a woman on a motorcycle on the main road directly opposite one of the gates of the market.
It was however not clear as of the time of filing this report whether the man riding the motorcycle had the same mission with the woman or if he was just a commercial motorcyclist as it was alleged that the explosives were hidden inside a food flask the woman was carrying.
Another eyewitness, Ibrahim Salisu, who was at the scene of the market explosion, told journalists that the man and the woman, who disembarked from the motorcycle, and heading towards the market gate, refused to be searched by the security operatives and went back to the motorcycle.
It was also gathered that the bomb exploded when the security man followed them to inquire why they refused security check.
He was said to have sustained serious injuries and was rushed to the hospital.
The second blast, about a kilometre away, was said to have claimed the lives of three people, a kiosk owner, a food vendor and an onlooker.
Several people, including a soldier, were said to have sustained injuries during the explosion which happened directly opposite a military checkpoint.
In the meantime, the Gombe Police Command has banned the use motorcycles in the state capital from Sunday until Wednesday, because of the campaign rally of President Goodluck Jonathan of the PDP and his rival, Maj. Gen. Muhammadu Buhari (retd.) of the APC, on February 2 and 3, respectively.
The Command’s spokesman, Fwaje Atajiri, a Deputy Superintendent of Police, in a telephone interview with newsmen, announced the motorcycle ban and also confirmed the occurrence of the twin blasts but said investigations were still ongoing. Click to signup for FREE news updates, latest information and hottest gists everyday
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