By Kathryn Maureen Ryan
Impunity Watch, Managing Editor

ABUJA, Nigeria –  At least 19 people have been killed in a suicide bombing carried out in a crowded market in the northeastern Nigerian city of Maiduguri, the capital of the Borno State, reports say a young girl, believed to be about ten years old, was used to carry out the attack.  The attack was carried out at 12.40pm (1140 GMT) while the market was packed with shoppers and traders. The attack comes just a week after a major attack in the fishing town of Baga, also in Borno, carried out by Boko Haram, the largest attack ever carried out by the extremist military group. According to Amnesty International as many as 2,000 people may have been killed in the Baga attack. So far no group has claimed reasonability for the Maiduguri blast. The same market where the blast occurred was struck twice last year by suicide bombers. The city lies in the heartland of the Boko Haram insurgency.

A screen grab from a video released by Boko Haram, showing its leader Abubakar Shekau delivering a speech – 31 October 2014 The militants control large swathes of territory in north-eastern Nigeria. (Photo Courtesy of BBC News)

Ashiru Mustapha, a witness to the bombing said the young girl was searched at the entrance of the market, which has seen similar attacks in the past. However, the witness says the explosives detonated as the young girl was being searched. Mustapha said “The girl was about 10 years old and I doubt if she actually knew what was strapped to her body. “In fact, she was searched at the entrance of the market and the metal detector indicated that she was carrying something. But sadly, the explosion went off before she was isolated,” Mustapha said. Borno State police spokesman Gideon Jubrin said 19 people were killed and 18 others were injured in the attack but warned that the death toll could rise.

In the latest campaign by the African Islamic militant group Boko Haram, part of a string of attacks over the last several weeks and months, hundreds of gunmen reportedly overtook the town of Baga, its neighboring villages, and a multinational military base killing as many as 2,000 people. Last week attack in Baga lasted 5 days as gunmen overran local communities, Nigerian military police reportedly abandoned their posts after seeing the gunmen approach. In recent days the string of Boko Haram attacks has destroyed at least 16 villages. The attacks have forced thousands to flee their homes, approximately 10,000 people have fled to neighboring Chad, with reports of civilians drowning while attempting to cross Lake Chad.

Boko Haram is suspected in the suicide bombing attack in Maiduguri Saturday. The shocking use of a young child, who possibly was not even aware of what she was being used for, to commit such an atrocities is said by some to be unprecedented in the Boko Haram insurgency. However, the group, which was established to in opposition of young girls receiving education, is known to have kidnapped and abused young girls. Last April the militants kidnapped more than 200 schoolgirls in the Chibok region. Nine months later, the majority of the girls are still missing.

For more information please see:

The Boston Globe – Boko Haram Uses Young Girl in Nigerian Suicide Bombing – 11 January 2015

BBC News – Boko Haram Crisis: Nigeria’s Baga Town Hit by New Assault – 10 January 2015

Christian Science Monitor – Another Massacre? Why Nigeria Struggles To Stop Boko Haram (+Video) – 10 January 2015

CNN International – Boko Haram Amps up Attacks on Nigerian Villages – 10 January 2015

The New York Times – In Nigeria, New Boko Haram Suicide Bomber – 10 January 2015

Author: Impunity Watch Archive