Barely 24 hours after a dastardly bomb killed 47 students in Yobe State, a female suicide bomber Wednesday detonated a bomb near the college library in the main campus of the Federal College of Education (FCE) in Kontagora, Niger State, central Nigerian.
This would be the fifth female suicide bomber that carried out an attack in Nigeria, since the Islamist group, Boko Haram, began its bloody activities.
According the Police spokesperson in the Niger State Police command, Ibrahim Gambari, it was only the suicide bomber that died in the explosion, while some other students were critically injured.
But a lecturer in the institution, Andrew Randa, said on Twitter that he had seen at least three bodies.
Boko Haram Islamist group in the last two weeks, has been killing and maiming innocent persons in Nigeria, especially in the North Eastern axis of the country.
The group has declared a caliphate, or Islamic state, in areas it allegedly controls in North East Nigeria. The development, authorities at the defense headquarters through its spokesperson, described as “a mere propaganda by the distressed group.”
At least seven people were wounded by the suicide bombing and rushed to hospital, the lecturer said. The bomber died in the blast, the witness said.
He added that the explosion caused a deafening sound, and panic-stricken students and staff fled for safety.
Also the Provost of the college, Dr. Nathaniel Odediran, confirmed the incident in a telephone interview with our Correspondent on Wednesday.
It would be recalled that a suicide bomber had earlier blown herself up at a Polytechnic also in northern Nigeria’s biggest city of Kano in April this year, killing six people.
Six other people were critically wounded by the bomber who targeted students searching for their names at a notice board for national youth service posting in Kano Polytechnic, anti-terror information centre spokesman Mike Omeri had said.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility but fingers were however pointed at the direction of Boko Haram.
Security forces had in July this year also arrested two Boko Haram suspects in Katsina State, the two were 10-year-old girls respectively who had had an explosive belt strapped to them by the others, but could not detonate the devices, until they were arrested by security operatives.
Using female suicide bombers by the Boko Haram terrorist group appears to be a new tactic, although they have used them on occasion for years back.
Two female suicide bombers had also blown themselves up at a trade show and a petrol station in Kano in August this year, killing one other person and injuring at least six others.
