There was apprehension at a checkpoint near Maiduguri on Monday when a bomb went off as a suicide bomber was about to be apprehended, a member of the youth vigilante group, Yunus Idi, told our correspondent on the phone in Maiduguri.

He said the suicide bomber, who was on his way to Maiduguri from either Mainok or Benesheik, died in the explosion that caused severe injuries on four other persons – two members of the youth vigilante group that tried to search him and two women that he was in the taxi cab with.

Idi said the taxi driver was suspicious of a man that he had carried on the highway when he saw him with a strange object.

He said that the suspicion made the driver to park at the checkpoint at Njimtilo near Maiduguri pretending to want to take time out to wee.

He secretly told the youth vigilante at the checkpoint that he suspected one of the passengers to be carrying an object which might be a bomb.

According to him, the vigilante immediately swung into action asking all the passengers out and this raised the suspicion of the suicide bomber who detonated the bomb on him so as not to be arrested.

The bomb left him dead and four others injured, two female passengers and two members of the youth vigilante group.

Idi, who said the incident occurred at about midday, revealed that the casualties could have been more but for the luck that it was only one out of the two explosives that exploded.

.........HJM

God help us

Only God can deliver us fron dis terrorists. I wonder aw dey r being deceived to carry out suicide bombing while those giving out the orders are busy eating, sleeing and enjoying life.