A female suicide bomber has detonated a bomb, around 12 pm on November 12, 2014, Wednesday, at the Federal College of Education
Kontagora in Niger State.
According to SaharaReporters, the suicide bomber was a girl in her 20s. Her ethnic origin cannot be ascertained, as her body was badly damaged by the blast.
It was gathered that several students sustained injuries from the attack. According to an eyewitness, Mary Okafor, the explosion claimed 10 lives. It also seeded panic among the students. All of them were ordered to vacate the school.
However, a journalist of BBC informed via Twitter that at least 4 persons lost their lives, while the number of wounded people was also impressive.
The terrorist attack has also been confirmed by the state police. Anti-bomb squads and other divisions of police, the military men have arrived the scene. The explosion itself took place between the auditorium and the college library. Either the library or the auditorium could have
been the mains target for the attack. However, the explosive vest went off earlier than the terrorist expected, as she passed by a photocopying cabin.
Niger State shares border with the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. Photo: BBC
A second bomber has allegedly been arrested at the institution. The female suspect is currently under intensive watch at an undisclosed hospital in Kontagora.
A lecturer and a football writer Andrew Randa took his twitter account to recount first-hand experience of the bomb blast in Kontagora. According to him, the bomb went off at about 12.15pm. The explosion was really powerful, as his car shook. The sound was deafening.
Andrew had rushed to get his kids from their school. Other parents were doing the same. He further tweeted that some ‘Almajiri kids’ were chosen as targets for attack by irate students. Mr Randa condemned this action.
He later narrated that he has been directly affected by actions of terrorists for the second time in two years. Previous incident involved his parents, as a bomb went off in a church in Wusasa, Zaria. Both of Andrew’s parents and his
brother have miraculously survived. However, the psychological trauma still remains deep.
In the opinion of the lecturer, the nation has to stick together, in the times like this. This was not about being a Christian or a Muslim, it’s bigger than that.
Niger State has been experiencing a relative peace in the last couple of years. The last notable attacks happened in 2012, when churches in Madallah and Suleja had been bombed. November 12 attack comes barely 48
hours after Potiskum suicide bombing of a secondary school, which claimed the lives of 49 students.
Boko Haram is believed to be behind these attacks on students, as the ideology of the sect is in strict opposition to Western education.
by ROTMANLUV 2023-07-08, 17:34
