St. John’s Catholic Church, the main Catholic Church in the state, which shares a fence with the Abubakar Tafawa Balewa Stadium in the Wunti - city center district was the target of a huge explosion.
Security operatives have fenced off the scene so it is difficult to ascertain the level of devastation and casualty figure.
The church was conducting the Sunday Mass when the bomber attacked.
The blast killed the bomber and wounded three others the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) said.
“Three injured victims were rushed to the hospital for medical attention,” he said.
However, the Associated Press reports that the blast killed only the bomber but 46 other persons were injured and doctors fear more could lose their lives due to the level of injuries sustained from the blast.
Bauchi State Deputy Commissioner of Police, Otitoju Stevens, while confirming the blast, at the Bauchi University Teaching Hospital, told journalists that the bomber was stopped at the gate by church security, where he detonated the bomb-ladden car.
Stevens also assured that his men have taken control of the situation and asked the people of the area to go about their normal businesses.
‘‘The situation has been brought under control,’’ Stevens said. ‘‘We have our men minding all areas.’’
Military personel have cordoned off the area preventing journalists from gainig proper access to blast site.
No one has claimed responsibility for the attack but it mirrors the operational mode of the dreaded Islamist sect Boko Haram
The sect has killed hundreds of people since 2009 in attacks on security forces, government offices and places of worship, and has been designated a terrorist group by the United States.
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