Deadly violence hits northeast as Nigeria president starts term

A suicide bombing killed 26 people inside a mosque in northeast Nigeria’s city of Maiduguri on Saturday, hours after Boko Haram launched a separate attack, on the first full day of President Muhammadu Buhari’s term. Buhari, who took the oath of office on Friday, vowed in his inaugural address to crush the Islamist insurgents whom he described as “mindless” and “godless." The mosque bombing in the Borno state capital was carried out by an assailant who pretended to be a worshipper joining afternoon prayers, police and witnesses said. Earlier, the military repelled an overnight attack launched by insurgents who fired rocket-propelled grenades into homes in a bombardment that lasted several hours.

It was a nightmare.

Dala resident Malam Yusuf told AFP

Buhari in his inaugural speech announced plans to reinforce Maiduguri with a new command and control centre to better coordinate the counter-insurgency effort, a move analysts said signalled his commitment to intensifying the fight. It was not clear if the fresh violence in the strategically crucial city was timed to come the day after the inauguration. But the new president will likely be tested repeatedly in the coming months by a militant group that has proved resilient over its six-year uprising.

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