About a dozen people are feared dead and many more were injured in an explosion that rocked a political party rally in Suleja in Nigeria’s northern Niger state Thursday, according to emergency services and eyewitness accounts. The explosion rocked a senatorial rally of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as it was about wrapping up in the premises of a public school. Eyewitnesses said a loud noise was heard from a bus parked by the roadside as the device went off, and reported seeing several dead bodies at the scene.
Those injured have been evacuated to the General Hospital in Suleja and the Gwagwalada Teaching Hospital in Federal Capital Territory, according to the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA).
‘We saw a lot of dead bodies around the scene, with many people, including security agents, injured,’ said Sani Mohammed, who was at the scene.
The explosion occurred shortly after the state governor, Babangida Aliyu, left the scene of the rally.
State police spokesman Richard Oguche confirmed the incident, but did not give details.
It was the latest explosion to rock Africa’s most populous city, following similar bomb blasts in the central city of Jos on Christmas Eve, which left over 80 people dead, and another one on New Year’s Eve at a military barracks in the capital city of Abuja, where over a dozen people were killed.
Investigations into the previous blasts have not revealed those behind them.
Nigeria goes to the polls next month to elect state and federal lawmakers, state governors and the president.