Bomu lalipuka na kuua watu wengi katika duka kubwa la manunuzi Abuja, Nigeria
At least 21 killed in Nigerian shopping mall explosion as people prepared to watch national team play Argentina in World Cup
- Witnesses said body parts were scattered near Emab Plaza in capital Abuja as black smoke could be seen a mile away
- Police said 21 bodies had been recovered and 17 more people were injured as rescue work continued at the site
- Mall was reportedly teeming with people just an hour before Nigeria's match against Argentina in Porto Alegre, Brazil
- It should have been a national celebration as Nigeria was guaranteed a place in the next round for first time since 1998
- No one has claimed responsibility though attack bore hallmarks of Boko Haram, which has been fighting in northeast
Witnesses said the blast left body parts scattered around the Emab Plaza in an upmarket district of Abuja, as billows of black smoke could be seen from a mile away.
It turned what should have been a national celebration into a national tragedy as Nigeria secured its place in the World Cup's knockout stages for the first time since 1998.
Devastating: An explosion has killed at least 21
people in a shopping mall in the Nigerian capital Abuja an hour before
the national football team started playing in Brazil
Wounded: At least 17 more people were injured in
the blast, including this man being helped to safety. The government
has said it will check the activities of 'insurgents'
Brutal: Rescue workers carry the remains of a
person in a body bag after the bomb in the crowded mall. Witnesses
reported seeing shoppers covered in blood
Rescue: Police Superintendent Frank Mba said 17
people were wounded and 21 bodies were recovered, with rescue work still
ongoing at the shopping mall in the capital
Devastation: A Nigerian soldier at the scene of
the explosion which killed 21 people and wounded 17 more in the capital
Abuja. Violence is becoming more and more frequent
The blast is the latest in a series of violent
attacks blamed on the Islamic extremists Boko Haram, who have a
stronghold in the northeast of the country
Smoke: Several cars were left burnt-out by the
bomb, which unconfirmed reports suggested could have been dropped off
next to the mall by motorbike
No one has yet claimed responsibility, but the attack bears hallmarks of Boko Haram extremism.
'I heard the explosion and (felt) the building shaking,' said Shuaibu Baba, who had a narrow escape.
He said he rushed downstairs to find that the driver who had dropped him a few minutes earlier was dead. 'I asked the driver to come with me, and he said no, he would wait for me in the car,' he added.
Police Superintendent Frank Mba said 17 people were wounded and 21 bodies were recovered.
He also said one suspect has been arrested and investigations have already started. Another suspect was killed by soldiers as he tried to escape on a motorcycle, the spokesman for Nigeria's National Information Centre said.
The blast came as Nigerians were preparing to watch their country's Super Eagles come up against Argentina at the World Cup in Brazil.
Many shops at the mall have TV screens, but it was unclear if the explosion was timed to coincide with the match.
One witness said he thought the bomb was dropped at the entrance to the mall in the Wuse 11 suburb by a motorcyclist, but Mba said it was too early to say.
Crowded: The shopping centre was reportedly
teeming with people at the time of the explosion this afternoon. 'I
heard the explosion and (felt) the building shaking,' said Shuaibu Baba,
who had a narrow escape. He said he rushed downstairs to find that the
driver who had dropped him a few minutes earlier was dead
Burnt-out: Smoke rises from vehicles after the
bomb exploded in an upmarket district of Abuja. Several cars around the
shopping mall caught fire after the blast
Rescue work: The blast came as Nigerians were
preparing to watch their country's Super Eagles come up against
Argentina at the World Cup in Brazil
A government spokesman said 'every step is being
taken to check the activities of insurgents in the country' and advised
Nigerians to remain vigilant of strangers
Chiamaka Oham, who was near the site of the blast, told the BBC: 'We heard a really loud noise and the building shook, and people started screaming and running out.
'We saw the smoke and people covered in blood. It was just chaos.'
The
group stage match in Porto Alegre, Brazil, went ahead between Argentina
and Nigeria, with Nigeria losing 3-2 but still qualifying for the
tournament's knockout stages.
Argentine
star Lionel Messi scored twice during a tense match which was clinched
in the 50th minute. But the game was more of a lap of honour for both
Group F teams, as they were already guaranteed a place in the knockout
stages after beating Bosnia and Herzegovina and Iran.
The blast is the latest in a series of
violent attacks blamed on the Islamic extremists Boko Haram, who have a
stronghold in the northeast of the country.Boko Haram attracted international condemnation for the April mass abductions of more than 200 schoolgirls, and is blamed for this week's abductions of another 91 people — 31 boys and 60 girls and women with toddlers as young as three.
Emergency: Workers carry a man who was injured
into the Maitama general hospital. The explosion was at Emab Plaza, near
the Banex Plaza shopping district
Guard: Nigerian soldiers lined the streets as
chaos gripped the capital in the wake of the attack. Many are pointing
the finger at the militant group Boko Haram
Constant threat: Abuja is in the centre of
Nigeria and Boko Haram militants have spread their attacks to the
capital from their stronghold in the north east
Abuja residents were urged 'to remain calm and go about their normal business' by government spokesman Mike Omeri, who issued a statement saying that security agencies are 'handling the situation.'
He said that 'every step is being taken by the government to check the activities of insurgents in the country' and advised Nigerians to remain vigilant and conscious of movement of unidentified people.
Abuja is in the centre of Nigeria and the militants have spread their attacks to the capital. Two separate explosions in Abuja in April killed more than 120 people and wounded about 200 at a busy bus station. Both were claimed by Boko Haram, which threatened further attacks.
A bomb at a medical college in northern Kano killed at least eight people on Monday, and last week, at least 14 died in a bomb blast at a World Cup viewing site in Damaturu, a state capital in the northeast.
In May, twin car bombs in the central city of Jos left more than 130 people dead; and a car bomb at a bus station killed 24 people in the Christian quarter of Kano, a Muslim city.
Tragedy: People could do little but watch as a
plume of thick black smoke rose into the air, which could be seen a mile
away from the site of the explosion
Helped: People crowd around an injured woman
outside the shopping mall following the blast. Police had already
detained a suspect in the hours following the explosion
Abuja residents were urged 'to remain calm and
go about their normal business' by government spokesman Mike Omeri, who
issued a statement after the bomb
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