Suicide Bomber Kills 26 People During Muslim Procession In Yobe State

The Police in Yobe State have confirmed the killing by a suicide bomber who attacked   a religious procession in Potiskum.

The leader of the Muslim Brotherhood in   the town, Mustapha Lawan, who lamented that 26 people died in the incident.

The suicide bomber was said to have joined the procession by Shiites muslims celebrating the annual Ashurah (the 10th day of Muharram 1436 celebration).

The state Commissioner of Police,   Markus Danladi, who addressed journalists, said that five people were injured in the blast.

He said, “The blast killed three members of the Muslim brotherhood plus the bomber. Before we got to the scene, the group had evacuated the bodies of those effected by the blast.”

But Lawan told journalists on the telephone that apart from the 13 persons who died on the spot, 13 others who were among the injured   later passed on where they were being treated.

Yobe State Governor Ibrahim Gaidam condemned the attack on the   procession as heinous, barbaric and unwarranted.

The governor, in a   statement by his media aide, Abdullahi Bego, said it was regrettable that the attack came at a time that peace was gradually returning to the state.

Gaidam, who described those behind the attack as “criminals who want to fan the embers of religious discord,” called on   the people   to remain calm and vigilant.

The governor directed government hospitals in the area to provide immediate medical treatment to all the victims of the attack free of charge.