……….. Bomb exploded three minutes after he left the stadium
President Goodluck Jonathan yesterday escaped a suspected suicide bomb blast after he left a campaign rally in Gombe state, as the country braced for fresh Boko Haram attacks before polling day.
President Jonathan had been addressing supporters of his ruling People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in Gombe city and had just left the venue when the blast happened in a car park outside.
According to eye witnesses, the bomb was planted in a tricycle station along Abubakar Habu Hashidu Road some 200 meters from the stadium, venue of the rally.
President Jonathan had left the scene of the campaign rally some three minutes earlier. It is not known if any member of his convoy was affected by the blast.
Rescue workers and health officials said the bodies of two women were brought to the Gombe State Specialist Hospital with 18 people who were injured. The target of the attack was not clear.
“We have evacuated two bodies of females we believe were suicide bombers behind the blast,” said the rescue official, who asked to remain anonymous because he was not authorised to speak to media. Two bombings in the city killed at least five on Sunday, when the Islamists were also repelled from the Borno state capital, Maiduguri, for the second time in a week.