More than 30 shops and 25 vehicles were also destroyed.
It was alleged that one of the female suicide bombers was a mad woman suspected to have been used by terrorists, leaving over 16 people including the mad woman dead on the spot, while those who sustained injuries were rushed to University of Maiduguri and the State Specialists Hospital for treatment.
The incident which occurred at about 11am forced many traders, students and residents to close. The explosion occurred at a time Governor Kashim Shettima was having security meetings with security chiefs in the state.This is the second most deadly attacks along Chalarams Road at Monday market.
The source told AFP that the “first bomber stood by a motorised rickshaw packed with goods in the bustling market and took a call on her mobile phone. She then dropped it (the mobile phone) and at that moment she blew herself up, so people thought the bomb was concealed in the rickshaw.
“About 10 minutes later, another woman who looked about 19 and carrying what looked like a baby on her back under hijab arrived at the scene that was crowded by rescuers and residents. She then detonated the bomb on her back.”
An eye witness, who was among the lucky survivors, Mallam Ali Mohammed told Vanguard that “two female suicide bombers hit the vicinity of the busy Maiduguri market killing over 60 people.”
Another eye witness, who is a petty trader, Mallam Abba Usman said: “As I am talking to you now, we are still trying to rescue the injured and evacuate the corpses. I cannot give you a number yet but a lot of people died.”
“And as people were still wondering what was happening and were trying to rescue the injured, another woman in the same area detonated a bomb planted on her, which claimed so many lives"
A trader, Amadi Nuhu, who spoke to our correspondent said: “They were two suicide bombers. The first detonated herself, killing many people and as people were running for their lives, the other bomber detonated her own, killing many more. I don’t know how many people were killed but about 14 Keke Napep (Jega) evacuated corpses to the specialists hospital.”
According to Nuhu, most of the traders along the axis where the suicide bombers attacked were killed in the explosion, with many more who came to the market for business
Credit: Vanguard
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