The explosion is said to have happened around the Mai Aya Aya, before the Kwankelai junction, along the old Danguibi Road. It was close to the Ruwan Dawa village and Magamin Maitarko.
According to Daily Trust, bandits were suspected of having planted Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) at three different locations.
Malam Yunusa Isah, an eyewitness and resident of Malele village, disclosed that the first explosion killed four people immediately. He further explained that another explosion happened when a trailer ran over the second IED, and five people died on the spot.
Mal. Nuhu Ibrahim Dansadau, another resident in the village, disclosed that the first two explosions killed nine people, and the number of casualties in the third explosion is still being compiled.
Nuhu alleged that the Dansadau community had come under bandit attacks since Governor Dauda Lawal visited the area. He explained that the attackers were working to ensure that the residents were scared and were planning to disrupt the construction company working on the Dansadau road.
This happened days after the United States launched missiles at terrorist hideouts in Sokoto, another North-West State and the same week when the Boko Haram terrorist group bombed a Mosque in Maiduguri, killing five people and leaving several injured.
The United States President, Donald Trump, first disclosed the operation in a post on social media, where he framed the strikes as retaliation for what he described as the killing of Christians by Islamic State militants “at levels not seen for many years, and even centuries”.
The remarks immediately triggered concern within Nigeria, with critics questioning whether the operation breached the country’s sovereignty and whether Abuja had authorised the attack.
President Trump also said he personally ordered the delay of a planned US airstrike against Islamic State-linked militants in Nigeria. The US president said that he made the order so it could be carried out around Christmas, describing the military operation as a “Christmas present”.
