Nigeria: String Of Blasts, Islamic Leader Killed
By MISNA
A string of explosions late yesterday evening hit the city of Maiduguri, capital of Borno State, leaving at least ten dead, according to the Nigerian media. Based on reconstructions, the aim of the coordinated attacks was the base of the Joint Task Force near the post office, not far from the local market.
Witnesses heard between 12 and 16 blasts in different areas of the neighbourhood, though the worst-hit are London Cinki and Gwange.
The local media reports that the attack was followed by an exchange of fire, in which three people were killed, including two civilians. The blasts partially destroyed a primary school and a radio antenna, in addition to various homes and stores.
It is not the first time that Maiduguri is theater to violence. Over the weekend gunmen killed a very respected Islamic leader, who promoted a correct and balanced vision of Islam in respect to a more intransigent one of various groups in the area. According to the media, Mala Kakà was killed in his home in Fezzan, in Maiduguri, by suspected members of the Islamic Boko Haram armed group. Kakà was an elder member of the Borno Emirate State Council and second to the Sultan of Sokoto, leader of Nigeria’s Muslim community.
The city is considered a stronghold of the extremist group that since 2010 has left some 1,400 dead in the Muslim majority north. Yesterday’s attack has not been claimed.
