A powerful blast triggered by a suspected suicide bomber has struck Nigeria’s police headquarters in Abuja, the country’s capital, killing at least two people.
Olusola Amore, spokesman of the national police, said two people were confirmed dead after a car blew up in the parking lot outside the headquarters building on Thursday.
The suspected suicide bomber and a traffic officer, who rode in the loaded vehicle to show the driver where to park, were both killed in the attack, Amore said.
“The body of the suicide bomber has been recovered and full investigation has commenced,” he read from an official statement.
The exact cause of the blast was not immediately clear, but Amore said the Boko Haram – a group that calls for a wider application of Islamic law in Nigeria – is suspected to be responsible for the attack.
“They have been issuing threat upon threat,” he said.
Al Jazeera’s Yvonne Ndege, reporting from the blast site, called it “quite a horrific scene” where at least 30 to 40 vehicles were completely burnt and “bodies – pieces of mutilated bodies” were being carried out from charred vehicles.
Umar Mairiga, a spokesman for the Nigerian Red Cross, said that seven injured people were taken to a hospital for treatment and two had already been discharged. Mairiga said it was difficult to confirm how many people had died.
Police said 33 cars had been damaged beyond repair and 40 more had been partially damaged by the explosion, though the building was not affected.
A series of explosions and attacks targeting police and fire service headquarters rocked northeastern Nigeria last week, and the Boko Haram were assumed to have been behind it.
It has warned that it will carry out further attacks across the country if its demands are not met.
Big jobs usually go to the men who prove their ability to outgrow small Jobs.
Don't be afraid to give your best to what seemingly are small jobs. Every time you conquer one it makes you that much stronger. If you do the little jobs well, the big Jobs will tend to take care of themselves.