According to Punch, several people were injured on Thursday outside an evangelical church in Gombe, the Gombe State capital, when a suicide bomber set off his explosive vest amid the country’s ongoing battle against an Islamist insurgency.
“There was an explosion outside the ECWA church this morning. A suicide bomber who was restrained from getting into the church blew himself up,” Abubakar Yakubu, who heads the Nigeria Red Cross in Gombe, told the AFP.
“Luckily no one was killed but some people were mildly injured.”
A witness told AFP that the man arrived during the service at the Evangelist Church of West Africa in Gombe and refused to park his motorcycle outside a security barrier set up by volunteers
“He insisted on riding through the barrier,” said Dahiru Badamasi, who lives in the neighbourhood.
“It was while he was arguing with the volunteers that his suicide belt exploded.”
Another witness heard an explosion and rushed outside.
“I saw a man leading three children with their new dresses stained with blood,” said Jummai Maifada.