Nigerian security forces killed one
suspect and detained another after 21 people died in a bomb
explosion near a shopping center in the capital, Abuja.
The blast yesterday near the Emab Plaza wounded 52 people, National Emergency Management Agency spokesman Ezekiel Manzo said by phone today. The bombing occurred at about 4 p.m. local time in Abuja’s Wuse 2 district, popular with wealthy Nigerians and foreigners.
No group claimed responsibility. Nigerian security forces are struggling to contain a violent campaign by the Islamist group Boko Haram to impose Islamic law on Africa’s biggest oil producer. The group killed at least 75 people in an Abuja suburb in April in the capital’s deadliest bombing.
If the blast “is a terrorist attack, it highlights the increased capabilities of Boko Haram to strike within the city despite the greater public security presence there,” Thomas Hansen, senior Africa analyst at Control Risks in London, said in an e-mailed response to questions. “Previously, attacks have only occurred on the outskirts of Abuja.”
After the blast, a suspect was killed as he tried to flee on a bike, the National Information Centre said in an e-mail.
A week before yesterday’s attack, the third in Abuja since April, government spokesman Mike Omeri said intelligence reports indicated militants planned to hijack gasoline trucks and use them to carry improvised explosives to the capital.
President Goodluck Jonathan has said Boko Haram is part of al-Qaeda and poses a threat to countries throughout the region.
His administration has enforced emergency rule in Borno, Yobe and Adamawa, the three states where Boko Haram is most active, since May 2013.
Jonathan hasn’t said if he will seek re-election in February.
Nigeria, a country of 170 million people with Africa’s biggest economy, is roughly divided between a mainly Muslim north and predominately Christian south.To contact the reporter of this news please contact
delevelmusic@gmail.com.
The blast yesterday near the Emab Plaza wounded 52 people, National Emergency Management Agency spokesman Ezekiel Manzo said by phone today. The bombing occurred at about 4 p.m. local time in Abuja’s Wuse 2 district, popular with wealthy Nigerians and foreigners.
No group claimed responsibility. Nigerian security forces are struggling to contain a violent campaign by the Islamist group Boko Haram to impose Islamic law on Africa’s biggest oil producer. The group killed at least 75 people in an Abuja suburb in April in the capital’s deadliest bombing.
If the blast “is a terrorist attack, it highlights the increased capabilities of Boko Haram to strike within the city despite the greater public security presence there,” Thomas Hansen, senior Africa analyst at Control Risks in London, said in an e-mailed response to questions. “Previously, attacks have only occurred on the outskirts of Abuja.”
After the blast, a suspect was killed as he tried to flee on a bike, the National Information Centre said in an e-mail.
A week before yesterday’s attack, the third in Abuja since April, government spokesman Mike Omeri said intelligence reports indicated militants planned to hijack gasoline trucks and use them to carry improvised explosives to the capital.
Schoolgirl Kidnapping
Boko Haram drew international outrage when it kidnapped more than 200 schoolgirls from the town of Chibok in the northeastern state of Borno in April. Most of the girls are still missing, and countries including the U.S. and U.K. are aiding the search and rescue effort.President Goodluck Jonathan has said Boko Haram is part of al-Qaeda and poses a threat to countries throughout the region.
His administration has enforced emergency rule in Borno, Yobe and Adamawa, the three states where Boko Haram is most active, since May 2013.
Jonathan hasn’t said if he will seek re-election in February.
Nigeria, a country of 170 million people with Africa’s biggest economy, is roughly divided between a mainly Muslim north and predominately Christian south.To contact the reporter of this news please contact
delevelmusic@gmail.com.
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