At least 56 people were killed yesterday when a car bomb exploded in a marketplace in the north east Nigerian city of Maiduguri, according to the leader of a civilian group that helped recover the bodies.
Sadiq Abba Tijjani, leader of the Civilian Joint Task Force, said they managed to identify 21 of the dead but the rest “were either burnt or damaged beyond recognition”.
The majority of the dead were elderly women who sold peanuts and lemon juice at the market.
Other witnesses also estimated the death toll to be around 50, although some officials said only 17 people died in the explosion that ripped through the market.
Officials regularly play down the death toll.
Maiduguri, a city of more than one million people, has suffered from many strikes.
In March, twin car bombs killed more than 50 people at a late-night market where people were watching a football match on a big screen.
Yesterday’s explosives were hidden under a load of charcoal in a large vehicle, according to witnesses who spoke on condition of anonymity for the fear of reprisals.
Stalls, goods and vehicles were reduced to piles of debris, with the burnt-out shells of five vehicles and some tricycle taxis at the site of the explosion.
Witnesses and officials blamed Boko Haram extremists who have been accused of a series of bomb attacks in the West African nation.
The group, which attracted international attention with its April abduction of more than 200 schoolgirls, has increased its activites in recent months, launching more frequent and deadly attacks.
