Many feared dead in Maiduguri car bomb attack

Many are feared dead in a car bomb explosion in the North-eastern Nigerian city of Maiduguri.

The blast was said to have been carried out by a lone suicide bomber, who carried the Improvised Explosives Device in a tricycle, popularly called Keke NAPEP..Continue.....

The bomber was said to have driven the tricycle into the crowded business areabefore detonating it.

The Maiduguri post office, situated in the heart of the metropolis, is said to be a very busy area where traders, mostly from the eastern part of the country, sell handsets.

An eyewitness said the explosion shook the whole of Maiduguri town, as people ran helter skelter for their lives.

As of time of filing this report, the death toll had not been ascertained as soldiers had barricaded the whole area, preventing people from going near the scene of the blast.

Blood-spattered people were seen fleeing and vehicles crashed into each other, while soldiers fired automatic weapons.

The Islamist militant group, Boko Haram, has carried out numerous attacks in the region.

Its campaign of violence is aimed at imposing Islamic rule in northern Nigeria.

The Director of Defence Information, Maj. Gen Chris Olukolade, confirmed the bomb blast incident in Maiduguri when our correspondent contacted him on the telephone.

Olukolade said that security operatives had arrested a suspected insurgent in relation with the explosion.

He said that the suspect was already assisting the investigating team with useful information.

Olukolade said that investigation into the latest violence was ongoing adding that details of the incident would be made known later.

An eyewitness said he had seen what appeared to be dead bodies on the ground, and another spoke of seven fatalities.

A second car is reported to have been set on fire by the blast.