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| Suicide bombers set off explosive devices in Kuje, Nyanya, Abuja surburbs |
Boko Haram militants
struck last night in Kuje and Nyanya parts of the Federal Capital Territory,
leaving many dead and a sizable number of people injured. The death toll was put at
about 20 but the military, security agencies and the National Emergency
Management Agency (NEMA) were mopping up last night.
Although
NEMA confirmed that the explosions resulted in a number of deaths and injuries,
it was silent on the toll.
Armed
soldiers have been drafted to the affected parts to curtail the insurgents.
The
Nation report continues:
There
was suspicion that the attacks were carried out in anger by the insurgents
because some of their key commanders are being detained in Kuje Prison.
According
to eyewitness account, the insurgents launched simultaneous attacks on the
police station and the market in the town
A
resident said: “The militants struck at a busy spot near the Kuje Area Council
Secretariat junction which also hosts a major bus stop in the town. They
targeted crowded area because a mini-market is also being run in the area.
“As
at the time the bomb explosion occurred, there were many people in the affected
spot.”
Another
resident said: “The spontaneous attacks were launched on Kuje at about
9.10pm. What they did was first of all to bomb the police station in Kuje to destabilize
the police and other security agencies.
“Shortly
after the attack on the police, another bomb was detonated at a busy end near
Kuje Area Council Secretariat.
“The
explosions shattered many buildings in Kuje. The General Hospital in the town
was overstretched and many ambulances were drafted to rescue victims.”
A
reliable source said: “The insurgents invaded and attacked the FCT from two
major entry points. But the military and security agencies have moved in.”
A
statement by NEMA through its Press Officer, Manzo Ezekiel, reads:
“Following the unfortunate explosions that occurred this night in Nyanya
and Kuje, which are two satellite towns in the Federal Capital Territory,
the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) has deployed its rescue teams
in the evacuation of the victims to various hospitals.
“The explosions which
occurred simultaneously have resulted in a number of deaths and injuries, but
the rescue operations coordinated by NEMA are still ongoing. Details would be
made available later.”
Many Feared Dead As Twin Blasts Hit
Abuja
The
Punch reports that many people were feared dead on Friday night as two blasts
hit a roadside market at Nanya, a suburb of Abuja. This was as another
explosion rocked Kuje, another satellite town in the Federal Capital Territory
late in the evening.
A
female suicide bomber was said to be on her way to bomb a police station in
Kuje when the explosives went off, killing her instantly and injuring
passers-by. It was learnt that the twin blasts at Nyanya went off around 9.45pm
at the roadside market popularly known as yankuje.
Our
correspondent gathered that the explosion occurred close to the spot where an
explosion killed over 70 people on April 14 and on May 1, 2014.
A
resident of the area, Lambert Tyem, explained that he had just passed the scene
when he heard two loud explosions which sent everyone running helter-skelter.
He
said, “I just passed the roadside market and was sitting in front of my house
when we heard two loud explosions. We rushed to the scene and discovered that
the blast had killed many people and injured many others.
“Soldiers
came and cordoned off the scene; I don’t know the casualty figure, but it seems
to be high because many ambulances were coming to evacuate the dead and the injured
to the hospital.”
The
police could not be reached for comment as the FCT Police Public Relations
Officer, Manza Anjuguri did not respond to several calls to his phone.
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