Over 19 persons have been reportedly killed after an Improvised Explosive Device (IED), exploded at a local joint in the Kawuri community, Konduga Local government area of Borno State on Wednesday.
Unspecified number of residents were also injured during the explosion, THE WHISTLER has gathered.
The explosive device bore the mark of Boko Haram insurgents, who have been waging war in the state, which is in the North-East of Nigeria.
Several attacks have been witnessed in the last few days in the region raising fears of the region slipping back into orgy of violent attacks from the insurgents.
A government official confirmed the latest incident to Daily Trust, saying the bomb went off around 8:05 pm at a local tea joint where the villagers gathered for a night chat, adding that dozens of people also got injured.
“Nobody can say exactly how it happened, but we suspected that the bomb was planted, not a suicide attack.
“We saw corpses of 19 people with an unspecified number of civilians injured. The injured were evacuated to an undisclosed hospital in Maiduguri for treatment,” the source said on condition of anonymity.
The explosion came hours before the scheduled nationwide protests over hunger in Nigeria.