The Borno command of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), on Sunday, raised the alarm that youths in Maiduguri are now being recruited by Boko Haram to supply fuel in Gamboru Ngala area of the state.

The Commandant of the NSCDC, Mr Ibrahim Abdullahi made the revelation in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Maiduguri.

Abdullahi said the command had intercepted a reasonable quantity of fuel packaged in a carton of groundnut oil, bound for Gamboru Ngala Local Government Area in the state.

He said since Boko Haram were running out of food and other supplies, they had employed all sorts of means to replenish stock.

“The command had so far arrested a suspect, who confessed that he did not know the owner of the consignment that he was asked to deliver to the insurgents trapped in Gamboru Ngala.

“He later confessed that each of the five litres of fuel is sold at N15,000 to the insurgents.

“You will recall we raised the alarm that some agents of Boko Haram were transporting stolen cows from Mafa, Kalabalge and Bomboshe axis in the state to cattle market in Maiduguri.

“The Boko Haram usually send the cows to their agents in the city who will then sell them and repatriate either cash or fuel to the terrorists.

“We are therefore warning the people, especially drivers, not to accept or convey any form of message that looks suspicious to any one, especially along the Gamboru axis.

“We are also warning the drivers, park owners and union groups to always check their passengers and their luggage to avoid transporting bad elements that would cause havoc in the society,” he noted.

According to him, the command is working with other relevant security agencies to bring all the collaborators of terrorists to book.</s></s>Video: Two suicide bombers kill at least eight in Nigeria

Military says two suicide bombers kill at least eight people in Maiduguri</s>At least nine people were killed and 24 injured in two explosions in the northeastern Nigerian city of Maiduguri on Saturday, according to the country's National Emergency Agency (NEMA).

Female suicide bombers are believed to have carried out the attacks on the city's Bakassi Internally Displaced Persons camp, and the Nigerian National Petroleum Corp.'s Mega Filling Station, the Nigerian army said in a statement.

The terror group Boko Haram is suspected to be behind the attacks, said Maiduguri military chief Brig. Gen. Victor Ezeogwu, and NEMA's northeast region head Mohammed Kanar.

In the attack on the Bakassi IDP camp, the bomber ran into a group of people who were at the entrance, killing five of them, the army said.

At the filling station, the attacker killed three occupants on a tricycle at the entrance. The army puts the total number of dead at 8. "While we commiserate with the families of the late victims of this cruel act and wish those injured speedy recovery, we would like to assure the public that efforts are ongoing to track those behind the dastardly acts," an army spokesman said. "However, it is equally important to reiterate the need for more vigilance and security consciousness among all."</s>MAIDUGURI, Nigeria (AP) — Twin explosions from female suicide bombers suspected to be with Boko Haram killed nine people and injured 24 in Nigeria’s northeastern city of Maiduguri on Saturday morning, officials and witnesses said.

The first explosion came when two of the bombers tried to enter a camp holding more than 16,000 refugees from Boko Haram’s Islamic uprising at around 7 a.m. (0600 GMT), according to civilian self-defense fighter Dan Batta.

The military said there was only one attacker. “A suspected female suicide bomber ran into a group of men and women at the entrance while they were coming out of the camp, killing five men and injuring 11 women,” said a statement from military spokesman Col. Mustapha Anka.

Inuwe Sula, who lives nearby, said he saw six bodies evacuated and several wounded survivors “drenched with blood.”

The second blast came half an hour later and about a kilometer away when a tricycle taxi carrying two passengers exploded outside a gas station, Anka said. The bomber was driving the taxi and following a fuel tanker “with the sole aim of gaining entry to cause maximum damage and casualty.”

In both attacks, the bombers were prevented entry, which could have caused many more casualties, Anka said.

Nine bodies, including those of two suicide bombers, were recovered and 24 people wounded in the explosions were evacuated to nearby hospitals, said Sani Datta, spokesman for the National Emergency Management Agency.

Boko Haram has stepped up attacks after a months-long lull caused by a leadership struggle in the organization affiliated with the Islamic State group.

Nigeria’s home-grown insurgency has killed more than 20,000 people, spread across borders and forced some 2.6 million people from their homes.</s>MAIDUGURI, Nigeria — Twin explosions from suspected Boko Haram suicide bombers killed at least nine people in Nigeria's northeastern city of Maiduguri on Saturday morning, a rescue official and witnesses said.

The first explosion came when two suicide bombers tried to enter a camp holding more than 16,000 refugees from Boko Haram's Islamic uprising at around 7 a.m. (0600 GMT), according to civilian self- fighter Dan Batta.

Inuwe Sula, who lives nearby, said he saw six bodies evacuated outside Bakassi refugee camp and several wounded survivors "drenched with blood."

The second blast came half an hour later and about a away when a tricycle taxi carrying at least two people exploded opposite a fuel depot, Batta said.

Nine people were killed and rescuers were carrying several wounded victims to hospitals, Sani Datta, spokesman for the National Emergency Management Agency, told The Associated Press.

Boko Haram has stepped up attacks after a months-long lull caused by a leadership struggle in the organization affiliated with the Islamic State group.

Nigeria's home-grown insurgency has killed more than 20,000 people, spread across borders and forced some 2.6 million people from their homes.</s>MAIDUGURI, Nigeria — Troops shot and killed a man with explosives boldly showing strapped to his torso Sunday, as he tried to enter a refugee camp in northeastern Maiduguri city where another suicide bomber killed five people a day earlier.

The Sunday morning bombing is the fifth explosion in three weeks in Maiduguri, the birthplace of the Boko Haram Islamic extremist group blamed for the bombings. Maiduguri is also the headquarters of the military campaign to halt the insurgency.

The recent bombings have created a new wave of fear at Bakassi camp, which houses more than 16,000 people terrorized by Boko Haram into fleeing their homes.

"Why are they not ready for us to enjoy peace?" asked resident Usman Ado.

Another, Abubakar Gajibo, said he saw the bomber "clearly displaying the strapped explosives on his body."

Residents alerted soldiers who tried to persuade the man to surrender. But when he started running toward the camp gate, they shot him. One explosive blew up immediately and a second was safely detonated, Gajibo said. The military said there was no blast and soldiers had to detonate the explosives.

On Saturday, a female suicide bomber blew herself up at the camp entrance, killing five men and injuring 11 women. A second blast 30 minutes later came from a tricycle taxi driven by a suicide bomber carrying two passengers.

A bomb blast on Oct. 12 killed eight refugees in a taxi-van just outside Maiduguri.

In February, two female suicide bombers walked into a crowd of refugees at Dikwa camp, 80 (50 miles) northeast of Maiduguri, killing 58 people and injuring many more.

Nigeria's home-grown insurgency has killed more than 20,000 people and forced some 2.6 million people from their homes.</s>Twin explosions caused by female suicide bombers have killed nine people and injured 24 in the city of Maiduguri in north-eastern Nigeria, officials and witnesses said.

The first explosion came when two of the bombers, thought to be with Boko Haram, tried to enter a camp holding more than 16,000 refugees from the terror group’s Islamist uprising.

The incident happened at about 7am local time, according to civilian self-defence fighter Dan Batta.

The military said there was only one attacker.

“A suspected female suicide bomber ran into a group of men and women at the entrance while they were coming out of the camp, killing five men and injuring 11 women,” said a statement from military spokesman Colonel Mustapha Anka.

Inuwe Sula, who lives nearby, said he saw six bodies and several wounded survivors “drenched with blood”.

The second blast came half an hour later and about a kilometre away when a tricycle taxi carrying two passengers exploded outside a petrol station, Anka said.

The bomber was driving the taxi and following a fuel tanker “with the sole aim of gaining entry to cause maximum damage and casualty”. In both attacks, the bombers were prevented from entering. Had they got in they could have caused many more casualties, Anka said.

Nine bodies, including those of two suicide bombers, were recovered, with 24 people who were wounded in the explosions evacuated to nearby hospitals, according to Sani Datta, spokesman for the National Emergency Management Agency.

Boko Haram has stepped up attacks after a months-long lull caused by a leadership struggle within the organisation, which is affiliated with the Islamic State group.

Nigeria’s home-grown insurgency has killed more than 20,000 people, spread across borders and forced some 2.6 million people from their homes.

The United Nations peacekeeping mission in the Central African Republic has also revealed that 25 people were killed in clashes between armed groups amid “rising tension” in parts of the country.

A statement late on Friday said 15 fighters were killed the previous day in the communities of Mbriki and Belima, on the outskirts of Bambari, in Ouaka prefecture in the south of the country.

And on Friday, six police and four civilians were killed in an ambush on a main road.

The UN statement added that on Friday afternoon, eight peacekeeping officials were attacked, and a seven-year-old child was injured.</s>Michael Olugbode in Maiduguri

 After a lull in suicide bomb attacks in Maiduguri, the Borno state capital was rocked by twin bomb blasts yesterday morning.

Yesterday’s bomb blast was the second time in three weeks, after a long break in suicide bombing incidences, which hitherto had been a regular occurrence in the city reputed to be the birthplace of the Boko Haram insurgency.

It was not until recently that many checkpoints were withdrawn from within Maiduguri and the curfew on the town relaxed to between 10pm and 5am daily due to reduced attacks on the town. The Nigeria Police confirmed that nine people were killed in yesterday’s twin bomb attacks on the city.

The Borno State Commissioner for Police, Damien Chukwu, while briefing journalists on the attacks, said one of the incidents occurred at the entrance to one of the Internally Displaced Persons camps, Bakassi camp, just moments after the early morning Islamic prayer.

According to him, a female suicide bomber blended with a group of people returning from the mosque at a few minutes to seven in the morning.

 She detonated the bomb on her and in the process died alongside five others. Fifteen others were injured.

The police boss said at a distance of about two kilometres away, another female suicide bomber in a tricycle detonated a bomb which claimed her life and that of two others with her in the tricycle.

Chukwu said the tricycle had tried to detonate the explosive device near a truck conveying petrol to create havoc but was cut off by an onrushing 404 Peugeot car. He said the explosion affected the car but the tanker was saved in what could have been a major disaster. National Emergency Management Authority (NEMA) spokesman, Sani Datti, also confirmed that nine persons were killed in the twin explosions, which left 24 injured.

Datti revealed that there were two explosions in Maiduguri, one at the entrance to Bakassi IDPs camp and the other at the NNPC station along Damboa road.

 He said the agency’s rescue team was immediately deployed to the spots to evacuate the victims.

One of the commandants of the youth vigilance group (Civilian JTF), Abba Ali Kalli, told THISDAY over the phone that the two incidents seemed to have been coordinated.

 He however said the number of casualties at the entrance to Bakassi camp was yet to be ascertained while the incident at the NNPC Depot junction claimed three lives – the suicide bombers and two other persons in the tricycle.

In another press statement, the Nigerian Army through it’s spokesman for 7 Division in Maiduguri, Col. Mustapha Anka said the incidents occurred simultaneously at about 7.05am yesterday.

He said: “There were two simultaneous suicide bomb explosions at the entrance of Bakassi Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) camp and NNPC Mega Filling Station, Damboa Road, Maiduguri.”

He continued: “At the Bakassi IDP’s camp, a suspected female suicide bomber ran into a group of men and women at the entrance while they were coming out of the camp, killing 5 men and injured 11 women. The bodies of the dead men and the injured women have been evacuated.

“At the NNPC, a female suicide bomber followed a fuel tanker in a Keke NAPEP tricycle (rickshaw) with the sole aim of gaining entry to cause maximum damage and casualty but was prevented from gaining access to the station by another vehicle. In that process, the suicide bomber exploded killing the occupants of the tricycle.”

He said: “Troops and security agents had been mobilized and the injured had been evacuated while efforts are ongoing to comb the general area as well as entries and exits of Maiduguri.”

Anka said the Commandant of Operation Lafiya Dole who was at the scene of the incidents had commiserated with the families of the late victims of this cruel act and wished those injured speedy recovery.

He assured the public that efforts were ongoing to track those behind the dastardly acts, but reiterated the need for more vigilance and security consciousness among all, enjoining all citizens to report any suspicious persons or movements to the security agencies.</s>MAIDUGURI, Nigeria -- Witnesses say Nigerian troops shot a man with explosives strapped to his torso trying to enter a refugee camp in northeastern Maiduguri city where another suicide bomber killed five people a day earlier.

The Sunday morning explosion is the fifth in three weeks in Maiduguri, the birthplace of the Boko Haram Islamic extremist group blamed for the bombings.

The bombings are creating a new wave of fear at Bakassi camp, which houses more than 16,000 people terrorized by Boko Haram into fleeing their homes.

Resident Abubakar Gajibo said he saw the bomber walking toward the camp "clearly displaying the strapped explosives on his body." He said they alerted soldiers who asked the man to surrender and fired when he ran. One explosive blew up and a second was safely detonated.
Suspected Boko Haram suicide bombers kill at least eight people in the Nigerian city of Maiduguri.