(Reuters) — Twenty-five people were killed on Tuesday (July 07) after a suicide bomber, suspected of belonging to Boko Haram, attacked a crowd in the northern Nigerian city of Zaria.
The attack took place in the compound of a local government building where people had gathered to greet a newly-appointed head administrator. There were conflicting reports as to whether the bomber was male or female.
In a separate attack, witnesses and a military source said a female suicide bomber killed four people around the same time at a military checkpoint in Sabon-Gari town in the northeastern state of Borno, which has been hit hardest by the Islamist insurgency.
There were no immediate claims of responsibility for the attacks but they bore hallmarks of the Islamist militant group, which has bombed several towns and cities in northern Nigeria in the past 10 days after months when they were thought to be hiding out in the Sambisa forest.
Last week, more than 200 people died in a string of attacks in Africa’s top oil producer, piling pressure on new President Muhammadu Buhari who is trying to work with neighbouring states to quell the insurgency.