Nigerian army
Nigerian army soldiers stand guard as they cordon off a road leading to the scene of a blast at a business district in Abuja June 25, 2014. Reuters/Afolabi Sotunde

(Reuters) - A female suicide bomber killed five people and wounded dozens at a security checkpoint outside a market in the northeast Nigerian town of Potiskum on Sunday, witnesses said.

"The lady refused to be checked at the gate to the market and an argument ensued," witness Ibrahim Maishago told Reuters by telephone.

"She let off the bomb, killing herself and five others, while many were injured."

(Reporting by Ardo Abdallah; writing by Tim Cocks; editing by Jason Neely)