MAIDUGURI, Nigeria: At least five people were killed and 15 others injured in a suicide bomb attack on a university campus in northeast Nigeria, police said on Monday.
The blast happened at a mosque in the staff quarters area of the University of Maiduguri and is thought to have been carried out by a teenage girl, a local resident and a lecturer told AFP.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility but suspicion will likely fall on the Boko Haram, which has repeatedly used young women and girls as human bombs.
Borno police spokesman Victor Isuku said that before the blast at the mosque, police on patrol shot a girl aged about 12 as she tried to get into the university at about 5:15 am (0415 GMT).
“The IED (improvised explosive device) strapped to her body exploded, killing her instantly,” he said in a statement.
“Shortly after that a second explosion occurred in a mosque inside the university.
“Four persons, including a professor and the second suicide bomber, died, while 15 persons sustained various degrees of injuries and were rushed to UMTH (University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital).”
