Bombings Kill 44 in Central Nigeria

An eye-witness told NAN that some of the workers had tried to get the police to restrict the boy who was looking suspicious, before he detonated the bomb, which injured many others.

The latest attacks appear to be in response to the so-called Islamic State group’s call to step up military operations during Ramadan.

President Muhammadu Buhari said the murder of up to 150 Kukawa residents near Lake Chad on Wednesday by Boko Haram was a “heinous atrocity”.

Jos has seen several attacks blamed on Boko Haram, including an incident in February when at least 15 died and in December previous year when more than 30 people died.

The restaurant was blown up by a bomb that had been planted earlier, whereas the mosque saw gunfire preceding the attack by a suicide bomber.

A restaurant and a mosque were targeted.

The Jama’atu Izalatul Bidia organization preaches that all religions should peacefully coexist. Yahaya was unharmed, Sani added.

The restaurant destroyed by another explosion is said to have been popular among state governors and other top politicians.

Sabi’u Bako bought a take-out and then heard a massive blast as he walked away with friends.

“As we have said before, the people of northern Nigeria deserve to live free from violence and from terror. We can’t believe that we escaped”, said Sabi’u Bako, a survivor of the attack.

Though no group has claimed responsibility for the attack yet, it had the hallmarks of Boko Haram insurgents, reported Reuters. Some 32 churches and about 300 homes were torched during that time, according to the chair of a self-defense group in Borno state, Stephen Apagu.

He said the vigilantes killed three militants.

The U.S. also condemned recent attacks and “continues to provide counterterrorism assistance to help Nigerian authorities… combat the threat posed by Boko Haram“, said a state department spokesman yesterday.

He said it had already become clear that the violations committed by Boko Haram were extensive and far-reaching, demanding a response of commensurate magnitude. Nobody else was hurt in the explosion, they said.

Buhari promptly fired the entire board of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corp, and he’s promised to recover stolen state funds.