Nigerian military repels Boko Haram after second attack on northeast city

Nigeria’s military on Sunday repelled a Boko Haram assault on the key northeastern city of Maiduguri as violence raged across the region just two weeks before national elections. The hours-long attack on the strategic capital of Borno state was the Islamists’ second attempt to take Maiduguri in a week. Separately, a suicide bomber killed seven people in Potiskum, the economic capital of neighbouring Yobe state. The suicide bomber blew himself up outside the house of a federal legislator, killing 10 people, two security sources told Reuters. Sabo Garbu, a member of the house of representatives, was unhurt.

There is heavy gunfire going on. Everybody is panicking and trying to flee the area.

Idris Abubakar, a resident of Polo on the southwestern outskirts of the city

At least eight people were killed as the insurgents fought gunbattles with government soldiers in Maiduguri. The insurgents, who arrived in several armed pick-up trucks and on motorbikes, attacked three points in the southwest and southeast at around the same time, a security source said. Troops backed by vigilantes had pushed them out of the southeast, a spokesman for a local pro-government vigilante group said. Growing violence by the insurgents is a big problem for President Goodluck Jonathan, who faces a presidential election on Feb. 14 that analysts say is too close to call. The electoral commission is struggling with logistics to enable more than a million internal refugees to vote.

Africa Boko Haram