At least five people have been killed and 10 wounded after a Nigerian suicide bomber blew himself up at a leprosy hospital.
The bomber, who tried to gain access to the facility on the outskirts of the northeastern city of Maiduguri, detonated his explosives outside the building about 5.30 pm on Saturday.
‘He had wanted to get entry but was contemplating how to pass through security checks at the gate when the bomb went off,’ emergency management official Mohammed Kanar said.
‘We took the bodies and the injured to the specialist hospital (in Maiduguri).’
Local resident Ibrahim Bulama said the bomber was one of three men who were dropped off near the hospital by a SUV vehicle.
‘They looked around for a while, obviously trying to sneak into the hospital,’ Bulama said, adding that the facility was being guarded by civilian vigilantes assisting the military in the fight against Boko Haram Islamist insurgents.
‘Suddenly, the explosives on one of them went off. The other two fled in the confusion. Five people were killed and 10 others injured.’
There was no immediate claim of responsibility but Nigeria’s Borno state, where the attack took place, has been the hardest hit by the Boko Haram insurgency which has left at least 15,000 people dead.
AAP
