April 2014 Abuja bombing

April 2014 Abuja attacks
Part of Islamist insurgency in Nigeria
Location Abuja, Nigeria
Date 14 April 2014 (GMT+1)
Target Crowds at the Nyanya Motor Park bus station near Abuja, Nigeria[1]
Attack type
 Twin bombing
Deaths 88+
Non-fatal injuries
 200+
Assailant Boko Haram

On 14 April 2014 at about 6:45am, two bombs exploded at a crowded bus station 8 km southwest of central Abuja, Nigeria, killing at least 88 people and injuring at least 200.[2][3][4][5][6]

Boko Haram claimed responsibility for the bombing six days after it occurred.

Attack

A man rests in the hospital after 71 people were killed and 124 injured when a bomb exploded at a bus station just outside Abuja, April 15, 2014.

Explosives hidden inside vehicles detonated during morning rush hour in a bus station in Nyanya on the outskirts of Abuja. After the initial blast, further explosions occurred as fuel tanks in nearby vehicles ignited.[7]

Abbas Idris, head of the Abuja Emergency Relief Agency, confirmed that 71 people had been killed and 124 injured.[8] The bus station serves a poor, ethnically and religiously mixed community.[5] Manzo Ezekiel, spokesman of the National Emergency Management Agency, confirmed that numerous injured victims were undergoing treatment in the hospital.[8] By April 15, the death toll had increased to 75, as investigators continued to sift through the wreckage at the blast site.[2] By April 18, the death toll had increased to 88, with more than 200 reported injured.[6]

Responsibility

Boko Haram claimed responsibility for the bombing six days after it occurred—the video claiming responsibility features the group's leader Abubakar Shekau and was released on 19 April.[9] Aminu Sadiq Ogwuche was arrested by Interpol in Sudan in May 2014 on the suspicion of being one of the masterminds behind the bombings.[10]

Response

Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan visited the scene of the blast, where he said:

We have lost quite a number. We condole with our country men and women. The issue of Boko Haram is quite an ugly history within this period of our own development. Government is doing everything to make sure that we move our country forward. But these are the unnecessary distractions that are pushing us backward. But we will get over it.[11]

The attack came the day after Nigerian senator Ahmed Zanna claimed the Islamist group had killed 135 civilians in north east Nigeria in three attacks during the week preceding the blast.[12]

References

  1. ↑ Karikari-apau, Nana; Duthiers, Vladimir (14 April 2014). "Blast kills 71 people at bus station in Nigeria". CNN. Retrieved 15 April 2014.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Minister: 75 dead in blast at nigerian bus station". Associated Press. 15 April 2014. Retrieved 15 April 2014.
  3. ↑ "Nigeria violence: 'Seventy killed' in Abuja bus blasts". BBC News. 14 April 2014. Retrieved 14 April 2014.
  4. ↑ Ijagba, Gbenga Seun; Drew Hinshaw (14 April 2014). "Nigeria Bomb Blast Kills At Least 71". The Wall Street Journal (Abuja). Retrieved 14 April 2014.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Abrak, Isaac; Felix Onuah; Camillus Eboh; Tim Cocks (14 April 2014). "Nigerian bus station bombing kills 71 on edge of capital". Reuters. Retrieved 14 April 2014.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 "How the Abuja Bomb was Planted + Survivors Recount Their Experience - Date360 | Naijablogger". Date360. 2014-04-15. Retrieved 2014-08-26.
  7. ↑ Pflanz, Mike (14 April 2014). "Blast in Nigerian capital kills 71". Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 15 April 2014.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 "71 killed in a Bomb Blast at a Bus Station in Nigeria". IANS. news.biharprabha.com. Retrieved 14 April 2014.
  9. ↑ FAUL, MICHELLE (2014-04-19). "Islamist Militants Boko Haram Claim Deadly Nigeria Blast". Huffingtonpost.com. Retrieved 2014-08-26.
  10. ↑ Freeman, Collin (15 May 2014). "British-born Boko Haram member arrested over bomb attack". The Telegraph. Retrieved 15 May 2014.
  11. ↑ "President Jonathan Cancels Trip To Ibadan; Visits Scene Of Blast". Channels Television. 14 April 2014. Retrieved 15 April 2014.
  12. ↑ "Nigerian senator: '135 civilians killed' in attacks". BBC News. 12 April 2014. Retrieved 15 April 2014.

Coordinates: 9°03′00″N 7°30′00″E / 9.0500°N 7.5000°E