Nigeria arrests 9 alleged Boko Haram extremists in Abuja

Their attacks are often carried out by young women or adolescent boys targeting markets, which are at heart of African daily life.

The violence is taking place near the border with Nigeria, Cameroon and Niger along the shores of Lake Chad. Initial reports from security sources put the death toll at 30, including the bombers. About 36 people were killed and 50 wounded, some of them Nigerians in the Baga Sola village, where they moved hoping to escape the attacks of the extremists.

Overall, the group’s six-year old insurgency has killed some 17,000 people and displaced 2.5 million others, mostly in Nigeria.

Mr Mohammed said that Federal Government was addressing issues of unemployment and bad governance which made terrorism attractive to some youths in the north-east. It would turn into an ideal base for Boko Haram terrorists to launch surprise attacks against the neighbouring states.

Police had arrested Abdullahi Abubakar Sadiq, who is accused of being Boko Haram’s cameraman, in the town of Uba, in Nigeria’s north western Borno state.

However, security sources say that logistical constraints have caused delays and there are growing signs that national armies are instead acting alone. Last week, Cameroon was reported to have killed 100 Boko Haram fighters and freed 900 hostages.

Ryan Cummings, chief analyst for Africa at crisis management company red24, said such a strategy would have limited effects.

The militants’ recent bombings have been seen as reprisal attacks. The European Union in a statement said Saturday’s attacks were “a threat to the stability of the country and the region”.

All three of the suicide bombers were female, according to the police.