By Rafiu Ajakaye
LAGOS, Nigeria (AA) – At least eight people were killed and 15 others injured in a Wednesday morning bomb blast in Maiduguri, the birthplace of the Boko Haram insurgency in Nigeria’s northeast.
According to the country's National Emergency Management Agency the injured were taken to local specialist hospitals for treatment.
The blast occurred near a displaced persons’ camp in an area popularly called Muna Motor Park, according to local residents.
Abdul Fari told Anadolu Agency he “counted up to 13 dead bodies before the security agencies cordoned off the scene”. Fari said the bomb exploded in a vehicle parked in the area.
This is the first bombing to hit the Borno state capital for some time; the authorities previously considered the area to be safe.
Boko Haram was thought to be in retreat following the army's ongoing bombing of rebel camps, coupled with a split between the terror group's commanders.
Wednesday’s blast poses a threat to the government's stated objective of relocating all displaced persons -- numbering well over two million.
Although Boko Haram now hardly controls any major area across the region, previously it held territories the size of Belgium until 2015 when troops dislodged the militants.