Seven persons were injured in the bomb blast that occurred at a polling station in Maiduguri, capital of northern Borno state, Saturday during the parliamentary poll, the private African Independent Television (AIT) confirmed. The station said the seven included a police woman and two members of the National Youth Service Corps, who are working with the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as ad-hoc staffers. Those injured are now being treated at the University of Maiduguru Teaching Hospital. There was no report of deaths resulting from the blast. No group has claimed responsibility for the bombing, but Maiduguri has been under attack from members of the Islamic fundamentalist group Boko Haram, who have been targeting security agents and politicians for attacks.
On Friday, some text messages were circulated in Maiduguri warning people to stay away from polling booths, but state governor Modu Sheriff urged the people to disregard the messages as the authorities have provided enough security.