Boko Haram: IED Kills Four near Army Checkpoint in Biu

An Improvised Explosive Device (IED) went off today at Biu, Maiduguri in Borno state killing four people including a woman and her baby.

The acting public relations officer of the Nigerian Army, Colonel S. K. Usman in a statement released on Sunday morning said the IED which was planted a longtime ago close to a Checkpoint undetected by the road side went off when a tricycle mistakenly stepped on it.

"We regret to state that the injured soldier also died at the hospital. The general area has been cordoned off, and Explosive Ordinance Device (EOD) team from Forward Operation Base (FOB) in Buratai have been mobilised further to carry out a search of the area.

"Preliminary investigations shows that the IED was buried a long time ago undetected. It exploded when the tricycle erroneously stepped on it. We commiserate with the families of the victims of this sad incident. This unfortunate development has brought to the fore the need for more security consciousness and vigilance among all.

"We would like to reiterate that the explosion would not deter us from seeing to the end of Boko Haram terrorists wherever they might be hiding through our ongoing clearance operations.

"We use this opportunity to solicit for more cooperation from members of the public to enable us to succeed in the fight against the remnants of these criminal elements going by the appellation Boko Haram terrorists." he said.