Two dead in NE Nigeria suicide attack: Police

Maiduguri (Nigeria), Jun 8: A female suicide bomber killed two people and injured four others in northeast Nigeria, while two people were injured when a bomb exploded near a military checkpoint, police has said.

"A female suicide bomber detonated an improvised explosive device strapped to her body along the Baga-Monguno highway, killing herself and two others on Saturday," said Borno state police commissioner Aderemi Opadokun yesterday.

Opadokun said four other people were injured in the attack, which was the sixth in northeast Nigeria since Muhammadu Buhari took over as Nigeria's new president on May 29. There have been 11 attacks in total and at least 93 dead, according to an AFP tally.

Meanwhile, Opadokun said there was a blast at Tungushe village in the Konduga district of Borno, about 35 kilometres by road southeast of the Borno state capital Maiduguri, at about 9:30 AM (1400 IST) on Saturday. "Two persons were injured and are now being treated at the hospital," he said, calling for increased public vigilance to deter fresh attacks.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for either incident but each bore the hallmarks of Boko Haram, which has previously used female suicide bombers and homemade explosives in its six-year insurgency. Buhari, who yesterday flew to Germany to attend meetings on the sidelines of the G7 summit of leading industrialised nations, has made defeating Boko Haram a priority for his administration.

The 72-year-old former military ruler arrived in Europe with a "wish list" for G7 leaders to help Nigeria, including kick-starting the country's faltering economy, improving power, tackling corruption and improving governance. But he said security was the main issue.

"We have a problem which they know," he said in a statement issued by his office on last evening. The statement said he had "used every opportunity at his disposal" before the meeting to discuss Nigeria's requirements on countering extremism.

AFP