MAIDUGURI, NIGERIA: Sixteen people were killed in Nigeria on Wednesday when a bomb blew up a village cafe in Borno state, hotbed of the Boko Haram militant insurgency, police said.
No group has claimed responsibility for the attack, which also injured several people.
Police spokesperson Nahum Kenneth Daso said on Thursday the government had imposed a 24-hour curfew following the attack, which came barely a week after a landmine explosion on a highway in Borno state killed seven soldiers.
A devastating suicide bombing occurred in Maiduguri, in state of Borno, Nigeria. The notorious extremist group Boko Haram is strongly suspected to be responsible for this heinous act. 🏛️📜🎓 #bokoharam #extremistgroup #suicidebombing pic.twitter.com/Tt1MwHFvdl
— Ask Nigeria News (@AskNigeriaNews) July 31, 2024
Local resident Kachallah Goni told Reuters he heard a loud explosion at around 1930 GMT on Wednesday at a popular cafe in Kawuri village, a few kilometers from Maiduguri, the capital of Borno state.
Mustapha Modu, a local vigilante, said he recovered at least 20 bodies from the cafe.
Boko Haram Attacks Borno Police Station, Kills Policeman And Wife, Burns Vehicles | Sahara Reporters https://t.co/TNvamTTVxd pic.twitter.com/ZFIEZKRMKm
— Sahara Reporters (@SaharaReporters) July 28, 2024
Nigeria faces a series of security challenges including a long-running Islamist insurgency in the northeast, separatist violence in the southeast, rampant oil theft in the Niger Delta and kidnapping for ransom by criminal gangs.
Sophisticated weapons against protest 🪧 but Lack Weapons against Boko Haram, terrorists, kidnappers, unknown gunmen etc#EndBadGovernanceInNigeria pic.twitter.com/F9k4nAmBD8
— EndBadGovernanceInNigeria 🇳🇬 (@VoiceOfNpower) August 1, 2024
On Thursday, thousands protested in cities across Nigeria against widespread insecurity, the rising cost of living, and governance issues.
Lat month, defence spokesperson Major General Edward Buba warned that the military will intervene to prevent any violence at protests by citizens planned for August against bad governance and economic hardship.
Buba said Nigerians had a right to protest peacefully but the demonstrations being planned from August 1 could turn violent as they were inspired by events in Kenya, where young people took to the streets and forced their government to scrap $2.7 billion in tax hikes.
(REUTERS)
