Many feared dead as twin bombs hit Abuja

The Federal Capital Territory, Abuja was again hit by suspected terrorists last night, and many are feared to have been killed in two bomb blasts that rocked the Nyanya and Kuje districts.

The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) which confirmed the explosions said unconfirmed numbers of persons are dead and several property destroyed.

In Kuje, a female suicide bomber was said to be on her way to bomb a police station in Kuje when the explosives went off, killing her instantly and injuring passers-by. It was learnt that the blast at Nyanya went off around 9.45pm at the roadside market popularly known as yankuje.

It was not far from the spot where an explosion killed over 70 people on April 14 and on May 1, 2014.

A resident of the area, Lambert Tyem, explained that he had just passed the scene when he heard loud explosions which sent everyone running helter-skelter.

He said, “I just passed the roadside market and was sitting in front of my house when we heard loud explosions. We rushed to the scene and discovered that the blast had killed many people and injured many others.

Read also: ‘Female’ suicide bombers kill many in Maiduguri

“Soldiers came and cordoned off the scene; I don’t know the casualty figure, but it seems to be high because many ambulances were coming to evacuate the dead and the injured to the hospital.”

NEMA however disclosed that it was yet to ascertain the number of persons that died in both incidents even as it said rescue services ambulances had ferried several injured to hospitals in Abuja.

A NEMA statement signed by Manzo Ezekiel reads, “Following the unfortunate explosions that occurred this night in Nyanya and Kuje, which are two satellite towns in the Federal Capital Territory Abuja, the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) has deployed its rescue teams in the evacuation of the victims to various hospitals in Abuja.

“The explosions which occured almost simultaneously have resulted in a number of deaths and injuries but the rescue operations coordinated by NEMA are still ongoing.”

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