Four Killed 21 Injured in Suspected IED Blast in Yobe State
A suspected Improvised Explosive Device (IED) explosion has claimed the lives of four persons and injured 21 others in Yobe State. The incident occurred on Friday along the Katarko-Goniri Road in Gujba Local Government Area. The victims, mostly residents of the Gotala community, were en route to the Buniyadi market when their vehicle triggered the explosive device suspected to have been planted by Boko Haram insurgents. According to reports from Channels Television, the bodies of the deceased have been taken back to their community for burial, while the injured are receiving treatment at the Damaturu Specialist Hospital and the Yobe State University Teaching Hospital. The Gotala community lies on the outskirts of the Sambisa forest, an area notorious for insurgent activities over the past 15 years. A local source also disclosed that some vigilantes and military personnel encountered similar IEDs along the same route on Friday, resulting in additional casualties, though details remain unconfirmed. At the time of this report, the military has not issued an official statement on the incident. Relatives of the victims, speaking from the hospitals, appealed to the Yobe State Government to urgently rehabilitate the deteriorated Katarko-Goniri Road. They stressed that the current condition of the road poses a severe risk not only to civilians but also to military personnel stationed in the Goniri area.