Michael Olugbode in Maiduguri and Segun Awofadeji in Gombe
A girl detonated a bomb on Thursday night, killing four boys at an Islamic seminary in Muna Galti, on the outskirts of Maiduguri, Borno State, in an attack that bore the hallmarks of Boko Haram.
In Zamfara State, bandits also Thursday night, invaded Gayari District of Gummi Local Government Area and kidnapped the District Head, Alhaji Hassan Mohammed and his son.
The girl, aged around 12, who attacked Muna Dalti (the birthplace of Boko Haram), detonated the device when open-air classes were in the place, a local militia and residents said yesterday.
She walked up to the group of boys who were just ending their lessons and “blew herself up in their midst,” Mohammed Bola, head of the anti-jihadist militia in the area, told AFP.
“She killed three boys and injured four others,” Bola said about the attack which happened around 1900 GMT.
Moments earlier, another young girl stormed into a house in the area and detonated her explosives, injuring one person, said a resident, Salisu Mohammed.
“The house was totally destroyed. Luckily, no one was killed as the occupants of the house were outside chatting with neighbours,” he said.
Bola, head of the anti-jihadist militia stated that the two bombers sneaked into the area together but split to attack different targets. The scene of the bombings, a popular night time venue for residents, has been repeatedly targeted by suicide attacks blamed on Boko Haram.
The jihadist group is notorious for suicide attacks on civilian targets including schools, mosques and motor parks.
In April, three people were killed and 33 others injured in twin suicide blasts among a crowd in Muna Dalti which houses a sprawling camp for thousands displaced by the jihadist violence.
Another faction affiliated to the Islamic State focuses on military targets, although it has recently been blamed for attacks on civilians. The Public Relations Officer of the Borno State Command, ASP Okon Edet, confirmed the Muna Galti killings, but said: “Normalcy has since been restored in the area.”
Okon said the Borno Commissioner of Police, Mohammed Aliyu has urged the general public not to panic but to go about their lawful businesses without fear or apprehension, insisting that the Command will do everything necessary to secure lives and properties of all residents.
He said the commissioner has also advised the general public to always be security conscious; and to raise the alarm and report all suspicious persons and activities to the police or other security agencies.
Bandits Abduct District Head, Son in Zamfara. Meanwhile, bandits have kidnapped the District Head of Gayari District of Gummi Local Government Area in Zamfara State, Alhaji Hassan Mohammed and his son.
An indigene of the town, Malam Abubakar Sani said the bandits invaded Gayari town Thursday night and went to the district head’s house, where they kidnapped him and his son.
According to him, the Ak-47 wielding bandits fired gunshots into the air to scare away neighbours who came out to rescue the traditional ruler. Abubakar further explained that the kidnappers originally abducted the district head and his two children, but on their way, one of the children fell off from the motorcycle and ran back home.
The Zamfara State police spokesperson, SP Mohammed Shehu, said in a telephone conversation that the Command was yet to receive the report from the police in the area. In a related development, Governor Inuwa Yahaya of Gombe State on Thursday said the influx of displaced persons from insurgency-severed states was a huge burden on the state’s facilities.
Yahaya disclosed this while receiving a joint United Nations Population Fund/Norwegian Government delegation on a courtesy visit at the Government House.
He noted that the influx of displaced persons from insurgency-ravaged states of Adamawa, Borno and Yobe States have overstretched numerous public facilities in Gombe, saying that partnering states must address the problems.
He said: “Donor agencies and development partners have wonderfully done well in Gombe but I still urge them to do more and strengthen us in accommodating the displaced persons because they are Nigerians and must be accommodated considering the circumstance that led to their relocation from their immediate communities and ancestral homes.”
Yahaya expressed satisfaction with the UNFPA supported projects’ impacts on improving the lives of women and children, girl- child education, gender equality and succour to the displaced persons. He also commended the Norwegian Government and UNFPA for supporting girl-child education and implementing other healthcare programmes in the state.
