UPDATE: Death toll in Adamawa bomb blast rises to 56

The death toll from Friday’s suicide bombing in Adamawa has increased to 56 with 177 sustaining various injuries, an official has said.

Yusuf Muhammed, Chairman, Madagali Local Government, who confirmed the development to the News Agency of Nigeria in a telephone interview said 57 of the injured were critical and 120 minor.

He said the critically injured were rushed to Mubi General Hospital and Yola Specialists Hospital, while those that sustained minor injuries were treated and discharged .

PREMIUM TIMES reported how two female suicide bombers struck at a local market in Madagali, Adamawa State, north-east Nigeria.

Madagali lies some 276 kilometres from the Adamawa State capital, Yola.

The town, which is close to neighbouring Borno State, was one of several others held by Boko Haram at the height of the group’s brutal insurgency.

The latest blast is the third in Madagali, following attacks by two female suicide bombers on December 28, 2015, at a busy motor park.

Local sources had earlier said two female suicide bombers detonated the bombs at the grains and second hand cloths section of the market, Friday noon, killing dozens of people.

Mr. Muhammed described the attack as a setback to relative peace enjoyed by residents who resumed normal commercial and social activities following successful military operations.

He called on the federal government to deploy soldiers to the surrounding areas where he said Boko Haram insurgents had set up camps.