The explosion occurred at a fruit and vegetable market beside a main road in the Jimeta area of Adamawa’s state capital around 7pm.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility but the blast bore the hallmarks of militant group Boko Haram which has killed thousands over the last six years in its bid to create a state adhering to strict Sharia law in the northeast.
“Thirty-two people were killed and 80 have been injured,” said a Red Cross official who asked not to be named.
NEMA regional spokesman Alhaji Sa’ad Bello later gave the same casualty figures.
Suspected Boko Haram militants have carried out attacks in neighbouring Chad, Niger and Cameroon in recent weeks but have not struck northeastern Nigeria since late October when bombings in Yola and Maiduguri left at least 37 people dead.
