Nine dead, 26 injured in multiple blasts: Nigeria

By Rafiu Ajakaye

LAGOS, Nigeria

At least nine people have been confirmed killed and 26 injured in multiple suicide attacks in Nigeria’s northeast Madagali town on Friday, an official with the country's relief agency has said.

“At the moment, we have nine dead including the four bombers while 26 have been hospitalized. This is the current figure we have,” Saad Bello, coordinator of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) in the area, told Anadolu Agency by phone.

He said the figures could rise as officials gather data on the blasts which occurred at a busy bus station around noon.

But a police spokesman put the figure at 15 while locals claimed the number of those killed could be as high as 30.

“We saw around 30 bodies evacuated by the emergency workers and policemen who have cordoned off the scene,” Umaru Kudu, a local resident, told Anadolu Agency.

Once occupied by militants for much of 2014, Madagali has been the worst hit in Adamawa, one of the three states severely affected by the Boko Haram insurgency. There were at least three major suicide bombings in the town last year, killing over a hundred in total.

With its operational capacities seriously weakened by ongoing military operations, Boko Haram has resorted to targeting soft targets and security posts with mostly female suicide bombers.