A suicide bomber was killed on Tuesday when his explosives vest detonated as he rode towards a security checkpoint in Gombe, witnesses have said.
A huge explosion rocked the Kasuwar Mata area of the city around 6:30 pm while most residents of the mainly Muslim city were at evening prayers.
A young boy standing by the roadside was injured in the blast.
“We were inside the mosque praying when we heard a loud explosion,” said Kasuwar Mata resident Badamasi Mustapha.
“When we rushed out we found a motorcycle on fire and dismembered body parts of a man just 100 metres (yards) from the checkpoint.”
Mustapha said residents believed the bomber planned to hit the checkpoint, which is manned by a joint military and police squad fighting the city’s notorious “Kalare” street thugs.
An angry mob gathered the bomber’s scattered body parts, whipped them and set them on fire, witnesses said.
