At least 44 people died in two bomb attacks, believed to have been initiated by the militant Boko Haram, in Jos, Nigeria.
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“At the moment we have 44 dead bodies and 47 others injured from the scenes of the two attacks”, Mohammed Abdulsalam, from the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), said.
The second bomb exploded at Shagalinku, a restaurant that regularly hosts state governors and politicians.
Jos is located in central Nigeria between the predominantly Christian and animist southern half of the country and northern Nigeria, where the majority of the country’s Muslims reside.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility but Sunday night’s attacks bore the hallmarks of Boko Haram insurgents, fighting since 2009 to carve out a radical Islamic state in the northeast of Africa’s biggest economy and oil producer.
El Rufai, from Buhari’s All Progressives Congress (APC) party, said people in Zaria should be vigilant and avoid crowded places such as mosques, churches and bus stations in the next few weeks.
The army said it recovered a jeep packed with explosives after repulsing the attack.
Minimah also told the Shehu of Borno that mass deployment of troops and equipment is ongoing as part of strategic plan to confront the Boko Haram terrorists once and for all.
Washington strongly condemned the attacks, a State Department spokesman said, adding that the U.S. will continue to support Nigeria’s efforts to bring those responsible to justice. That was followed by gunfire and another blast at a mosque, said Tijjani Saifullahi, who survived the assault.
Musa said the militants looted stores and torched “almost half the village” before subsequently being defeated when soldiers posted reinforcements.
The news regarding the detention of the suspects emerged as Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari’s government has said it was investigating a report by the London-based rights group Amnesty worldwide, calling into question the Nigerian military’s treatment of the people in its detention.
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Boko Haram was blamed for a bombing at a shopping complex in the Nigerian capital Abuja in June, 2014. The sheikh, one of the most influential clerics in Nigeria, who survived the attack, is known for his opposition to Boko Haram and has written a book which criticizes the group.
