Nigerian police began investigating on Monday a series of explosions that followed President Goodluck Jonathan’s inauguration, including bombs that ripped through a crowded beer garden.
The blasts struck four cities, mainly in Nigeria’s north, which was hit by post-poll riots last month that killed more than 800 people.
Two explosions were in the northern city of Zaria, the hometown of Vice-President Namadi Sambo.
The most deadly of the attacks occurred in the northern city of Bauchi, where three bomb blasts went off at once at a beer garden inside a military barracks on Sunday night.
Bauchi state was among the hardest-hit during last month’s rioting following the victory by Jonathan, a southern Christian, over his main rival from the mostly Muslim north.
An emergency source speaking on condition of anonymity said the death toll from that blast was at least 10 and called it “devastating”.
‘At least 20 dead’
But one army officer who participated in the rescue said at least 20 people were dead and scores wounded, though there was no official confirmation.
“By my estimation … the number of people killed could not be less than 20. Scores of others were injured in the blasts which occurred at five-second intervals,” said the officer who declined to be identified.
There were at least 2 000 people in the “mammy market” when the blasts went off, he said.
Such markets, which include beer gardens and eateries, are commonly found at Nigerian barracks and are open to civilians.
The Bauchi market was particularly popular since the state is one of 12 in northern Nigeria with Islamic sharia law, nominally outlawing alcohol, though it is selectively enforced and drinking spots can still be found.
Varying death tolls
Authorities gave varying death tolls as is often the case in Nigeria, with officials frequently seeking to downplay the number of victims.
Bauchi state police commissioner Abdulkadir Indabawa said five were dead and some 20 people wounded, with no arrests yet made.
There was no indication of who was behind the attack. Bauchi is located several hundred kilometres away from the capital Abuja, where Jonathan was sworn in.
An Islamist sect known as Boko Haram, which launched an uprising in 2009 and has been blamed for dozens of killings in the northeast, has also been active in Bauchi.
A second deadly incident occurred Sunday in Zuba on the outskirts of Abuja, when an explosion at a beer parlour killed at least two people and wounded 11, according to Yushau Shuaib, spokesperson for the National Emergency Management Agency.
In Zaria, two separate bomb blasts late on Sunday and on Monday morning wounded four people, including two children, Kaduna state police spokesperson Aminu Lawal said.
It was also not clear who was behind those explosions, said Lawal. Kaduna state, where Zaria is located, was also badly affected by last month’s rioting.
Patrol target
Also on Monday, a bomb targeting a military patrol team went off in the northeastern city of Maiduguri, with no injuries reported, though a vehicle was damaged, a military spokesperson said.
Boko Haram was suspected in the attack in Maiduguri, which has been hit by a series of shootings and bomb blasts blamed on the sect, said Abubakar Abdullahi.
Jonathan was sworn in on Sunday following an election seen as the fairest in nearly two decades in Africa’s most populous nation, pledging in his inaugural address to transform a divided country.
The 53-year-old southern Christian comfortably beat his main opponent, ex-military ruler Muhammadu Buhari, in the April 16 vote, but three days of deadly rioting followed.
He took the oath amid extremely tight security, with some 10 000 security personnel deployed, mobile phone services cut and helicopters flying overhead. — AFP