Maiduguri Blast : The Worst Since Buhari Came to Power....85 Confirmed Dead

Boko Haram 's latest attack on innocent Nigerians in Maiduguri on Sunday which killed more than 85 people has been described as the most horrific attack from the group since President Muhammadu Buhari came to power... Police in the Borno state capital said at least 54 people died in Sunday’s co-ordinated strikes, with 90 injured, but residents caught up in the explosions said as many as 85 lost their lives.

The attacks on Sunday night in the Ajilari Cross area and nearby Gomari, near the city’s airport, killed and maimed worshippers at a mosque, bystanders and football fans watching a televised match...The army and rescuers said the explosions were caused by homemade devices but one local and the police said a female suicide bomber also blew herself up.

Nigeria’s authorities have frequently downplayed the death toll from attacks in the insurgency, which has claimed at least 17,000 lives and forced more than two million from their homes since 2009.
“I can assure you that no fewer than 85 people died,” said resident Sabo Ahmed. “The figure given by the police is just the number of people taken to hospital.

“Many more died and were just taken away by their loved ones.”

Ahmed said 15 more bodies had been pulled from the rubble of the football match “viewing centre” and that four were his brothers aged between 19 to 24...Alhaji Jidda, a resident of the Binta Sugar neighbourhood, said more than 35 people were killed at the mosque, which is thought to have been hit by a female suicide bomber.

“Apart from the imam and a few people, all the rest died instantly at the mosque because of the impact of the blast,” he said.

“From the figures we gathered, more than 85 people died (in total),” he said.
A security source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, confirmed: “Yes, the dead should be higher than what was given to you but that (54) is the official figure,” he said.