Blast in Nigeria’s Kwara state kills at least one person, police say
An explosion in Nigeria’s north-central Kwara state killed at least one person and injured an unspecified number of people on Monday, police said, as militants continue to pose a growing threat in parts of the country. Police said the blast occurred in the early morning in a village near Woro in the Kaiama district.
Police said the explosion was believed to have been caused by an improvised explosive device and struck a commercial vehicle traveling toward neighboring Niger state. Police spokesperson Toun Ejire-Adeyemi said an investigation into the attack had been launched.
No group had claimed responsibility for the blast, according to the police account shared with The Associated Press. The incident came in an area where an armed group slaughtered more than 160 people in February, according to the report.
Village head Umar Bio Salihu said residents were afraid and suggested some people could leave the community. “This is another trauma again because people are afraid. Likely, some people will leave the community again,” Salihu said.
The attack also reflected broader security concerns in Nigeria’s north, where Islamist groups have recently carried out a wave of attacks on communities and military installations. The report said experts view some assaults as part of a campaign to weaken the military’s response by overrunning camps.
Nigerian President Bola Tinubu deployed the military to the area following the February attack, the report said. It added that earlier in the year, the United States sent troops to help train Nigeria’s military in its fight against the armed groups.