Twin blasts rocked the popular “Babban Layi” market in Gombe on Thursday, leaving no less than 40 people dead people dead and several more injured.
Nobody has claimed responsibility but the attacks echo past atrocities by Boko Haram
The first explosion took place outside a footwear shop around 5:30pm followed by a second explosion just minutes later, said Badamasi Amin, a local trader who counted at least three bodies.
He said the area was crowded with customers doing some last-minute shopping on the eve of the Sallah festival marking the end of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan.
“I was about 70 metres (yards) from the scene” when the first blast struck, he told AFP.
“I and many other people rushed to assist the victims. While we were trying to attend to the wounded, another blast happened outside a china shop just opposite the footwear shop.
“Several people were killed and many more were injured,” he added.
Ali Nasiru, another trader, said he saw “people lying lifeless on the ground”.
“Traders and shoppers helped in evacuating the victims to the hospital,” he said. “I can’t say how many people were affected but there are many.”
“I have 30 bodies in bags and I am sure there are more out there,” a Red Cross official who wanted to remain anonymous told Reuters.
An official from the National Emergency Management Agency also confirmed that the attacks had taken place and many people were hurt.
Gombe’s market and bus station have in recent months already been targeted by bomb and suicide attacks.
