Insurgency in the Nigeria’s North Eastern States has taken
another dimension as members of Boko Haram now targets football viewing centres,
reports DigitalSENSE Sports.
Before now, football has been a unifying factor in Nigeria,
which entails that anything sports and football particularly, Nigerians are
united. But that has not been the case in recent times, even as the World Cup
kicked off in Brazil.
Our correspondent quoted the British Broadcasting Corporation
(BBC) as reporting that an explosion Tuesday, hit northern Nigeria’s Yobe state
at a venue televising a World Cup football match at about 6pm local time.
This has been confirmed by some residents and security officials,
who also said there were some casualties being brought into hospitals, but it was
not clear if there were any deaths as at press time.
Further, AFP reports that Yobe is one of three areas under a state of emergency amid
attacks by suspected Boko Haram militants.
“There was an explosion outside a soccer viewing centre here in
Damaturu at around 20:15,” Sanusi Ruf’ai, police commissioner for Yobe state,
told AFP news agency.
“Our men have deployed to the scene but it's too early for us to
give details.”
The Nigerian authorities have warned residents in some states to
avoid public screenings of the World Cup, fearing militant attacks.
On Thursday, the north-eastern state of Adamawa ordered all
venues planning to show live coverage of the football tournament to close,
saying they had received intelligence of planned bomb attacks.
The states of Borno, Yobe and Adamawa have been under a state of
emergency since May 2013. At least 2,000 people have died in the north-east
since Boko Haram launched an insurgency in 2009.
Courtesy: BBC/AFP
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Pix: Sports Minister Dr Tammy Danagogo
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