Nigeria: 18 killed, 41 injured in multiple bomb blasts in Abuja

At least 18 people were killed and 41 wounded in two explosions that ripped through the outskirts of Nigeria’s capital Abuja, the National Emergency Management Agency said on Saturday.

“The death toll is now 18 because three people died in the hospitals this morning while 41 others were injured and are receiving treatment in the hospitals,” NEMA spokesman Sani Datti told AFP.

The agency had earlier given a death toll of 15 and 41 wounded following the blasts late on Friday near police station in Kuje and at a bus stop in Nyanya, in an area previously targeted by the Boko Haram Islamist group.

The police said on Saturday the bombings were the handiwork of suicide bombers.

“Preliminary investigations revealed the bomb blasts were carried out by two suicide bombers — a male and a female,” the police said in a statement.

It said the Inspector-General of Police, Solomon Arase, had ordered massive stop-and-search activities in the city and advised residents not to panic.

Kuje, near Abuja’s airport, is some 40km (24 miles) from the city centre and seat of government. Its prison has been reported to be holding dozens of Boko Haram prisoners captured by troops. The same bus station in Nyanya was hit twice last year.

The Abuja blasts came a day after at least 10 people were killed when four suicide bombers blew themselves up Maiduguri, the restive capital of Borno state and 11 villagers died in neighbouring Adamawa state. The bombings underscored the persistent threat posed by the Islamist militants, despite claims of military successes in recent weeks in driving them out of captured territory, arrests and mass surrenders.

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Source:Hindustantimes