At least 18 individuals lost their lives, and numerous others sustained injuries in a series of devastating suicide bombings that occurred on a Saturday afternoon in northeastern Nigeria. The attacks targeted a wedding ceremony and a funeral, as reported by local officials and the police.
Barkindo Saidu, the director general of Borno State’s emergency management agency, revealed that three female suicide bombers carried out the attacks in Gwoza, a city in Borno State that has been a focal point of the Islamist insurgency by Boko Haram over the past 15 years.
The casualties included children and pregnant women, with some reports indicating a death toll of at least 30 individuals. As of Sunday morning, no group has claimed responsibility for the bombings, but the nature of the attacks bore similarities to previous actions by Boko Haram, a group responsible for widespread violence in Nigeria.
The initial explosion occurred at a wedding celebration, where one of the attackers detonated a bomb, resulting in the deaths of eight people, including the attacker and a baby she was carrying. Subsequent attacks took place near a hospital and at the funeral services for a victim of the first blast.
Nigeria, the most populous country in Africa, has been grappling with various security challenges, including mass abductions of individuals across different demographics. Boko Haram has been notorious for kidnapping thousands of teenage girls, forcing them into marriages, and coercing them into carrying out suicide missions at various locations.
In 2014, the abduction of 276 schoolgirls in Chibok by Boko Haram garnered international attention, with prominent figures like Michelle Obama speaking out against the heinous act. Despite efforts to locate and rescue the missing girls, many remain unaccounted for a decade later.
Boko Haram’s former leader, Abubakar Shekau, declared a caliphate in Gwoza in 2014, which was later dismantled by the Nigerian Army in 2015. However, attacks by Boko Haram militants have persisted in the region, posing a continuous threat to the local population.
