Taraba Police confirm bomb blast in Jalingo

The Police in Taraba State has confirmed a bomb blast at a drinking joint in Jalingo, the state capital.

The confirmation is coming a few hours after an attack in Takum LG Council of the state led to the death of a driver, the burning of two pickup vans and cattle by armed bandits.

Confirming the report on Monday, the Command’s Public Relations Officer, PPRO, Abdullahi Usman, said the incident which occurred in Jika Doruwa, Jalingo metropolis took place Sunday night.

The police spokesman who could not ascertain the number of casualties as of the time of press, said an anti-bomb squad of the command have been deployed to the area to ascertain the level of damages wrought by the explosion.

Our Taraba correspondent who visited the scene of the explosion, reports that the affected areas have been cordoned off by security operatives.

The explosion which reportedly occurred around 9pm, was said to have left several persons with various degrees of injuries, most of whom are undergoing treatment at the Federal Medical Centre, FMC, Jalingo.

An eyewitness who gave her name as Peace Danjuma, said “We were at a local joint called Jika when something under the chair we were sitting on exploded.”

Peace, who claimed that one of her friends sustained injuries, said the explosion took all of them unawares as it happened suddenly.

She vowed never to visit such an establishment again if and when her friend eventually recuperates.

At the time of filing this report, the number of casualties from the incident is yet to be released by the authorities.

The State Police Command has, however, promised to revert with more information as soon as its men come up with more details.