ICC Note:
A second bomb rocked the outskirts of Nigeria’s capital city of Abuja last night, killing 19 and injuring more than 80. Suspected to be the work of radical Islamic insurgency and U.S.-designated Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) Boko Haram, the group set off a bomb in the Nyanya bus terminal, just 50 meters from the site of yesterday’s explosion, on April 14th. That first attack, targeting Christian worshipers traveling to be with friends and family for the Easter Passion Week, draws into question the motives for the most recent bombing. While many point to the upcoming World Economic Forum for Africa set to take place in Abuja next week, rights groups familiar with Boko Haram question whether a deeper, religious motive spurred the group’s most recent attack.
05/02/2014 Nigeria (GlobalPost) – A car bombing at a bus station on the outskirts of Nigeria’s capital killed at least 19 people and injured 80, officials said Friday, just weeks after Boko Haram Islamists attacked the same spot.
The explosion rocked the crowded Nyanya bus terminal just a few kilometres from central Abuja at roughly 8:00 pm (1900 GMT) on Thursday, 50 metres from the site of an April 14 bombing that killed at least 75 people.
The April attack was the deadliest ever in Nigeria’s capital and raised security concerns about a World Economic Forum (WEF) summit set for Abuja next week, which includes a visit from Chinese Premier Li Keqiang.
“Our existing security arrangements are robust,” WEF said in a statement about the conference dubbed the “African Davos”.
“There are no plans to make any changes to the programme or content of the meeting,” it added, offering sympathy for the victims.
Rescue agencies struggled to reach the blast site late Thursday due to choking traffic that built up after the blast and emergency work was complicated by darkness at the station, which was very poorly lit after sundown.
Police spokesman Frank Mba told journalists that 19 people had been confirmed dead, while the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) spokesman Manzo Ezekiel told AFP that 80 others were injured.
Three undetonated explosive devices were discovered at the scene, Mba said, suggesting the toll could have been much higher had the other bombs gone off.
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