ABUJA, (Reuters) – At least 4 people were killed and more than a dozen injured in an explosion at a crowded market in Nigeria’s capital Abuja late yesterday, the police said.
President Goodluck Jonathan blamed the blast on an Islamist group and urged the security forces to do all they could to track down those responsible.
The explosion occurred at Mami market, in the grounds of the Sani Abacha barracks, a busy area where people congregate to socialise.
“There are four dead and at least thirteen injured,” police spokesman Moshood Jimoh said.
“The scene has been cordoned off by security agents and an investigation has commenced. Security has been tightened around the whole city,” Jimoh added.
A worker at the military medical centre in the barracks said at least 11 people had been killed and many more casualties were being taken to other hospitals in Abuja.
“Sixteen victims were brought into the hospital, four were dead but the other 12 are in a stable condition,” Udofia Enefion, director general at Asokoro Hospital, said.
One witness said he was approaching the market to join New Year’s Eve celebrations when he heard the blast.
“People ran in different directions. There were scores of bodies — dead and wounded. They used army trucks to pack them away,” Eric, a regular user of the market said.
Boko Haram, a radical sect which wants Islamic law throughout Nigeria, claimed responsibility for bombings in the central city of Jos on Dec. 24, which led to the deaths of at least 80 people and wounded more than 100.
The police say the group was behind a series of shootings and blasts in northern Nigeria in the past week. President Jonathan said in a statement:
“Tonight, evil people determined to turn the joys of fellow Nigerians to ashes detonated a bomb at a barracks market in the federal capital city.
“Basking in their nefarious success in Jos on Christmas eve, they have once again knifed at the heartstrings of a nation decked out in gaiety, celebrating New Year’s Eve.”
Nigeria was shaken by car bomb attacks in Abuja in October, for which responsibility was claimed by a rebel group in the oil-producing Niger Delta, where there has also been a resurgence in violence this month.
