Suicide bomber kills 50 in Mubi

• Two female terrorists blow up selves, vigilance group’s chief

Despite losing almost all its territories to Nigerian troops, Boko Haram yesterday demonstrated gruesome ability to hit back, staging a suicide attack that killed 50 people.At about 5 a.m., a youth detonated an improvised explosive devise strapped to his body as the Muslim faithful observed prayers at a mosque in Mubi, Adamawa State.

The attack came amid repeated reassurances by the Federal Government that the group had been degraded.Also, yesterday, two female suicide bombers blew themselves up in Bakin Dutse village, Madagali, killing the chairman of a local vigilance group.Adamawa police spokesman, Abubakar Othman, confirmed: “We have received the report that 50 people were killed in the morning attack on worshippers at a mosque. We are trying to get the actual figure of those injured and receiving treatment at various hospitals in the area.”

Mubi, earlier overrun by the insurgents and renamed ‘Madinatul Islam’, was liberated by Nigerian troops in August 2014.A witness told The Guardian that residents of the town were now living in fear and uncertainty.President Muhammadu Buhari described the attack as “very cruel and dastardly”.

In a statement signed by his spokesman, Garba Shehu, he commiserated with the families of the victims, promising that the government would do all in its power to protect the state.He called on people in the northeast to be more vigilant and report suspicious persons to security agencies to avert renewed attacks on soft targets.

He also directed the Inspector-General of Police, Ibrahim Idris, to deploy more personnel to prevent further attacks by armed bandits in Zamfara State. The decision followed recent killings by unknown gunmen in the Shinkafi and Maradun Local Government Areas.Reacting to the Mubi incident, Amnesty International said: “Today’s attack appears to be yet another example of Boko Haram’s continued unlawful disregard for human life. Boko Haram must immediately stop the targeting of civilians and must be held accountable for all the atrocities it has committed, including the use of children for suicide missions.”

According to the organisation’s country director, Osai Ojigho: “This is the deadliest attack on civilians by the militant group since the start of the year. It is deplorable that the attack was launched at a time when civilians were congregating for dawn prayers. It happened only days after the reported abduction and beheading of six farmers in Dimge village in Mafa Local Government Area, Borno State.”

He added: “While no group has claimed responsibility for today’s deadly attack, it bears all the hallmarks of Boko Haram atrocities documented over the years by Amnesty International. This wanton and deliberate targeting of civilians must end. All parties to the ongoing conflict in northeast Nigeria, including Boko Haram, are bound by the rules of international humanitarian law, which explicitly prohibits any direct attacks against civilians and civilian objects.”

Meanwhile, the Chief of Army Staff, Lt-Gen Tukur Buratai, tasked army chaplains to encourage families of troops in the northeast. He stated this in Maiduguri yesterday at the Training and Conference Week of the Nigerian Army Directorate, Chaplain Services (Roman Catholic) at Maimalari Cantonment.