OVER 20 people have died in Monguno in Borno State after an abandoned sack left behind by fleeing Boko Haram insurgents containing improvised explosive devices (IEDs) exploded yesterday evening. 

Boko Haram has been on the back foot in recent weeks as the Nigerian Army has regained a lot of ground from the sect, pushing them out of numerous towns and villages across northeastern Nigeria. They have recently been confined to their stronghold in Sambisa Forest of Borno State but still have the capacity to carry out murderous bombing raids using suicide bombers. 

Yesterday, the fleeing terrorist left a sack of unexploded IEDs, which went off killing and injuring many members of the civilian Joint Task Force (JTF) and local residents. Eyewitnesses gave different figures on the death toll as it was first reported  to be 23 but others sources said the casualty figure was as high as 63. 

One local resident said that Boko Haram members had abandoned the black sack while fleeing from the civilian JTF team. According to the resident, the civilian JTF members spotted the sack on a street and after a prolonged argument on what to do, one of them decided to pick it up. 

Tragedy then struck when the IEDs exploded at the point where the team was about to open the sack to unravel its contents. The injured and the dead included anxious residents who had raced to the spot on learning about the strange sack. 

One member of the civilian JTF said: “Our team was moving round the town after chasing away some insurgents who had tried to attack us but in the process, they spotted a strange black polythene bag. One of the team members took the sack to our gathering place. 

“Many people had come to know the contents of the sack but before we knew it, a series of explosions happened. About 20 people died in the process and many, I think, 43 were also wounded.” 

Salisu Kwayabura, the head of the Borno State Hospital Management Board, confirmed that 54 victims were taken to the State Specialist Hospital in Maiduguri. He added that Governor Kashim Shettima had visited the hospital and that of the 54 people taken there, 13 persons were brought in dead while 13 were treated and released. 

Meanwhile, the Nigeria Army has said that its Command and Control Centre in Maiduguri and Yola will become operational in 21 days when the installation of hi-tech equipment and infrastructural development would have been completed. President Muhammadu Buhari instructed the army to locate the headquarters there during the duration of the fight against Boko Haram.