The commissioner, Mr Damian Chukwu, confirmed the attack in a Short Message Service (SMS) sent to newsmen on Wednesday in Maiduguri.

Chukwu said that the incident occurred at a market at about 5: 30 p.m. when three suicide bombers hit the market.

He said the bombers, a male and two females, detonated the explosives at the busy market, blew up themselves and killed 16 people.

Chukwu said that 82 other persons sustained injuries in the attack, adding that the wounded were evacuated to Specialists Hospital, Maiduguri.

According to him, the command has deployed EOD to sanitise the area.