A series of bomb and gun attacks in the north-eastern Nigerian town of Damaturu has killed at least 63 people, the Red Cross says.
It follows attacks on security forces in the nearby city of Maiduguri blamed on the Islamist Boko Haram group. Nigerian Red Cross official Ibrahim Bulama, in Damaturu, told the BBC at least 63 people had been killed there.
He said two other people had been killed in attacks elsewhere. News agencies said the nearby town of Potiskum had also been attacked.
The BBC's Jonah Fisher, in Nigeria's commercial capital, Lagos, says people visiting morgues have reported seeing 92 bodies.
An unnamed local government official in Damaturu was quoted by AFP news agency as saying that hundreds of wounded people were being treated in hospital.
'Church torched'
Witnesses said the attacks began on Friday at about 18:30 (17:30 GMT) and lasted for about 90 minutes.
Gunmen then engaged in running battles with security forces.
A Roman Catholic parish priest told our correspondent his church had been burnt down and eight other churches also attacked.
He described gangs of young men roaming the streets throwing improvised bombs into the churches.
The attacks followed a triple suicide bomb attack on a military headquarters in Maiduguri, in neighbouring Borno state.
Military officials said the three attackers had died.
That attack is believed to be the work of Boko Haram, which has launched frequent attacks on the police and government officials.
The name means "Western education is forbidden".
Source: BBC
28 comments:
Here is a country with so much potentials and natural endowments that are the envy of other less privileged nations. The resources are so enormous that even foreigners illegally come in to grab whatever they could with the connivance of unscrupulous Nigerians. It's always a buffet for them. The rule is: grab whatever is on offer and eat to your satisfaction, but care less about the masses.
What is indisputable is that nemesis would one day catch up with the strong men who fail to work at building strong institutions that could empower the masses and prepare the way for a better life for the ordinary man while providing him with the basic needs of life and an enabling environment to eke out a living.
This is really crazy...for our Muslim brothers and sisters who visit this blog,is there anywhere in the koran where killing innocent people is encouraged?I ask because i don't understand how anyone can justify killing people?What motivates them?what do they hope to gain by inflicting misery and pain on innocent people?
Am not surprised. From a distance, the entire country appears completely distracted. I shook my head vigorously.
The leadership class is in disarray. North of Nigeria and Abuja has become the staging ground for a bigger battle. Soon it will be turned into a South vs. North crisis.
Is the National Assembly still talking about probe and Constitution Amendment?
The National Assembly is talking about bombs and Anti-terrorism Bill.
The way things are, the 2012 already appear jinxed. Bomb blast, Boko Haram, Removal of oil Subsidy, Strikes, 2012 Budget, Reintrodution of Toll gates. Arm Robery, Unemployments, Kidnapping, Insecurity in the land. Malfunctions of Education, Health, Power generations and distributions and many more. I cry for my country Nigeria.
I have been vindicated, I know that war is coming to Nigeria because people are not happy. Just little provocation will triger war in Nigeria. "Nigeria on the brink: Am not a prophet of doom. Most of us with third eyes saw it coming. I can point to at least three issues that can trigger war. This bomb attack in Nigeria has confirmed one of my fears about war coming to Nigeria.
Are you surprised? There is a terrible culture of intolerance in Nigerian official quarters, a military hangover that has persisted even under civilian rule. You only have to say something that someone doesn't like or that does not favour their paymasters and they start calling you names.
It is a sign of illiteracy. Even if you don't like a man's views, try and study what he has to say and then state your own response.
Majority of Nigerians have said exactly the same things that the government should dialogue with boko haram but no one appears to be listening. It is difficult to think; it is much easier to throw stones.
Well the stones are hitting their heads now. With Presidential aides calling some people terrorists and liars, and some other people asking for the President's resignation, and all that talk about idiocy and idiots, the drumbeats of war are beginning to sound and we must be worried. MEND has warned boko haram to keep off from Niger Delta.
I think President Jonathan caused it. He threw the first stone. He should have stayed above the fray.
Those bomb victims of last year has not been compansated up till date.
Insincere government. The President did well by visiting the victims and by expressing sympathy, I gave it to him, but he should have left the matter there, and allow other people to do the job of finger-pointing and the trading of blames.
When there was 9/11, President George Bush immediately took charge of the matter. And he pointed fingers, he issued threats. When a bus exploded on the streets of London killing innocent people, the Prime Minister Tony Blair talked tough.
Not that am comparing apples and oranges. But our president is the commander in-chief. Not just appointing his brother as (NSA). National security advicer.
A bomb explosion in which lives were lost and national security was compromised?
As I see it, that bomb explosion was all about President Jonathan and his political party; Peoples democratic party, PDP. It was meant to embarrass him and show him off as incapable of leadership. And you can see that his attackers appear to have rattled him,
As for the NSA, the man is qualified. He was once Chief of Defence Staff, and head of Military Intelligence, that is enough for him to perform. Let him dialogue with boko haram and save us from all this untimely death from bomb attack. At the end, they most dialogue with boko haram or there will never be peace for us the poor masses. That is what it is. Whoever set off those bombs, wanted to show that Jonathan has no political base. What better way to embarrass him than to have Boko Haram sabotaging Nigeria Peace? As President, in order to secure peace and stability in Nigeria. He should send his men, the sincere one to dialogue with the Boko haram as he did with M.E.N.D
Am really sad about my country Nigeria.
God save dis nation!!! Dis are signs of end time!!
This GEJ's FRESH AIR is toxic
I d0nt blame d pple..i blame d so called president 4 failinq to neqotiat wit dem..onli a stable undrstandin between d q0verment&d b0ko haramz wil end diz scarm calle sucied b0mbinqz.."to day iz qadafi..2m0rw miqht b qudkuck"letz c0te dat sayin..if no p0sitive acti0n iz beinq takinq dea miqit fullfield dia uzeless sayinq..
In this game of survival of the meanest, the truth doesn't quite matter. You must look at the sub-text. That is where the danger lies. Boko haram is not happy about the poverty in the North.
Boko haram's request should be investigated and met.
This is about personal ego and ambition from the side of the governments. They want the problems to escalate to enable them award billion of naira contracts to military contractors for the supply of more weapons in the name of fighting boko haram. It is not about us, the Nigerian people. I think they are just bluffing. They most dialogue so we can have our peace and move freely according to the law of the land. Boko Haram always issue statements full of innuendoes. Na so the thing (War) dey start oh. May be that is what this country even needs for us to move away from this marraige called one Nigeria.
Well, we seem to have missed the boat. October 1, 2011, the occasion was marked in the Aso villa due to fear of unknown. What a shame? I am very optimistics that dialogue will solve 80% of our national security. Nigeria will survive, if the President put on his thinking cap and forget about the fake advicers around him. He is already running out of luck.
Soon, we should start by asking for a proper audit of the expenses on the arms and ammunitions contratcted to military contractors. It may not be enough to tell us that an audit committee has been set up. Did the government buy brand new cars for the fight against boko haram? Where are those cars? How many billion of Naira have they spend so far for the military, police and other security agents drafted to Northan part of Nigeria. How many billion have been spent on their hotel bills? Someone from the government told me that the federal government has spent over 36 billion naira in fighting boko haram this year alone. But am yet to confirm it. But I know they have spent Billions so far in fighting boko haram. We should start asking questions. I want the press to ask this questions as the government has refused to dialogue with boko haram.
By the way, do you know that the best way to scare people in Nigeria now is to just shout Bomb! Bomb!! Bomb!!! and people will flee.
maybe that is a good development, after all in the Abuja bomb blast, more people died from the second blast because rather than take to their heels after the first, they thought it was a Nollywood show going on and they all went to have a look. The rest they say is history. I weep for my country Nigeria.
The motherfucker known as Ahmed Sani Yerima has succeeded in pushing forward the thoughtless ideas of a group of fools who call themselves Nigerians like me by the way of sharia. I feel for people who are from the North who did not talk against Sharia during the height of its fever. Now there is a boldness amongst the people who say western education is sin.Well i guess this is the price that one pays for a lack of formal education. As Long as the bombings remain within the confines of the North then I do not give a spoon , A knife or 2 f..ks!!!
I tell you, this Jonathan of a president has no spine. So this is now the new Nigeria? where people drop bombs and kill innocent people anyhow shebi? When I am ready to move back to Africa, I will settle in Ghana since Nigeria has become such a hot mess and security is non existent amongst other things.
May fire burn all this boko haram
May fire burn all this boko haram
Can't some thing be done about this boko haram's?
God please come give this group of people a thinghkk
For all these lack of peace and killings that is happening in Nigeria, I blame these thieves and looters: Ibrahim Babaginda (IBB), Olusegun Obasanjo (OBJ), Umaru Musa YAR'ADUA, TURAI Yar'adua, Sanni ABACHA and his FAMILY, James IBORI, ALLEIMESIAH, IWU, BODE GEORGE, DAVID MARK, BANKOLE...ETC. God Almighty will soon show each one of them and their children maximum wickedness. Ameeeeen ! Nigeria is suffering and in chaos due the damage done to the economy by our so called leaders who where only interested in looting the treasury, taking bribes and enriching themselves, their families, in-laws, friends, and business associates.
BLOOD OF JESUS 63 ppl, God save us frm diz evil
omgoodness! what is going on? does Yobe state not have any governor? what are they doing to bring sanity back to that part of the nation. these killings are just so wrong! please Jonathan really has to look into security issues in the north. can these boko haram pple not be stopped? infact eh, i just can't help but feel bad for Nigeria. we dnt seem to be growing or getting better
Its either this Boko Haram case is politically inclined or they are simply smarter than the Nigerian security forces put together...either way, the Govt.has again showcased a high level of incompetence towards the Nigerian people as their lives and properties remain unprotected.......#GEJ, you have failed us because when the pilot is unable to fly, the plane wud never take off!!!
MAY THEIR SOULS REST IN PEACE,AND THIS BOKO HARAM PIPS SHOULD NOT DIE AGAIN O,IT JUST ANNOYS ME WHEN THEY CALL THEMSELVES ISLAMIC GROUP,ISLAM PREACHES PEACE AND PURITY,I DUNNO WHAT MESSAGE THEY ARE TRYING TO PASS BY KILLING INNOCENT SOULS......GOD WILL JUDGE THEM ACCORDINGLY
Make Nigeria divide una nor wan hear now/......................
What is going on? Please divide the country. Northern part of Nigeria, please take your cows & dry land & move on. We don't have to be associated with murders. God in Heaven please intervene.
nawa oo i almost forgot that yobe state still exist!boko haram sef nawa to una oo kia what is GEJ doing?
I WEEP 4 NAIJA
Our children may inherit a very battered economy/country if we continue this way. With the level of corruptions and insecurity in Nigeria. More bombs are coming if we ignore all this signs. How do we right the anomalies of this government in the areas of security, infrastructure, power, education and unemployments. This government needs more thinkers, courageous people who can think out of the box.
Big lies and propaganda;
Our government has opened an employment center here and there and many state governments are doing the same. Do we create jobs by fiat? Do we create jobs in the pages of newspapers? This is what our Government is doing, creating jobs in the Radio and newspaper pages. A Government without proper statistics. Its just to distract the youths. Jobs are created when there are constructions going on, when the government takes agriculture seriously, when they embark on Housing and industrial projects. This is the major way of creating jobs. When this government create employment, they generate more revenue and solve 80%problem of security.
I pay over 1000 Euro as taxes,health insure and others every month here in Germany. My taxes is being used to develope every aspect of their sectors. What about my country Nigeria? Unemployed youths in Nigeria has formed armed groups, terrorist groups and kidnappers.
Can anyone in this blog point to me any sector of the economy that can be giving kudos. Health, Education, Works, Power Holding (NEPA),Tourism, Industry, Police commision, Security, NDLEA, EFCC, Judiciary, etc. Just point one sectors for me so we can give kudos. I weep for my beloved country Nigeria.
cruel
nawa is it not nigeria again? what do you expect GEJ to do? that guy is a slow poison!
Now i even have more respect for the arabs, they would have revolted since and this government would have either dissolved or its members run into exile. but unfortunately na so so mouth we get for this country, we will complain from morning till night. the next day we will adjust and move one, nigeria will neva change because its people are too scared or selfish to sacrifice and bring that change
GKLASS
WE as Nigerians need to come together, it is said that when you stand for nothing, you fall for anything. Looking back at preceding events, many irregularities have come and they have now become regularities. Lets not go too far, senseless looting on the part of our leaders came, swept, and has now overwhelmed us that we seem a hapless bunch that cannot do anything( even though i am constantly reminded of the stat-over 90% in the favor of the oppressed to those ruling) the militants come on a bad platform with a good message in my view but they are also a household name, then the dreaded Boko Haram( and if I must say, they are in no way representing muslims or the core of their beliefs, I am a Christian and i know that much). Boko Haram is not only in our midst now, they are now even gaining more airwaves that our popular sitcoms on our tv sets. The problem might be that we as a people aren't strongly bonded together to attack and overcome any attack in any form, less greed, more selflessness and love and brotherliness might be a good place to start. Good people will produce a good government, so let us stop blaming them. It is so ironical to me that while other nations battle with forces beyond their powers i.e quakes, slides, hurricanes e.t.c, we choose to disintegrate our otherwise perfect land by our own hands. God up theres must really be laughing as us. Maybe if that were the case, we might actually come together as one to combat these natural disasters, but God forbid that anyway. We are the people, the majority and the most affected and it up to us ultimately to be our brother's keepers and fight all these absurdities that were once myths in our great country of Nigeria.
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