Twin blasts in Borno village becloud inauguration

At least seven people were killed yesterday by twin bomb blasts at a wedding venue in a village in the southern part of Borno State, while several others were injured, witnesses said. The explosions at Tashan Alade village in Hawul local government area of Borno State changed the festive mood of the locals who were anxiously waiting for the taking over of power by a President Muhammadu Buhari and the swearing in of Governor Kashim Shettima for a second term.
Witnesses said the incident happened at about 6am when families and friends of the bride and groom gathered to witness the solemnization of their marriage.
Tashan Alade had in the last one year suffered countless attacks from the Boko Haram terrorists group. It was not clear at the time of going to the press if the attack was carried out by suicide bombers.
“We are sure the evil work was carried out by Boko Haram terrorists because they have done this several times,” said Altine James, a politician from the area. “They have thrown us into mourning because we lost our loved ones and many others are now in hospitals.”
A youth vigilante in the area, Mato Makatara, said one suspect was arrested and handed over to the police for interrogation.
“It seems the bombs were planted near the scene of the wedding and probably detonated by a remote control, we would get to know the truth after interrogating the suspect,” he said.
A security source in Maiduguri confirmed the incident but said details were sketchy.
Thugs manhandle Daily Trust reporter at Al-Makura’s inauguration
Nasarawa State correspondent of Daily Trust, Hir Joseph, was attacked by armed thugs in the presence of Alhaji Umaru Tanko Al-Makura and other dignitaries, just as the governor was taking the oath of office for a second term in Lafia, yesterday.
Some of the thugs whose number continued to increase, wore white T-shirts with the inscription: ‘TA’AL, short for Tanko Al-Makura, a popular campaign slogan of the governor.
Two thugs marched to the reporter while he was standing with his colleagues by the elevated platform where the governor was taking the oath.
The thugs dragged him metres away before officers and men of the police, and Nigeria Immigration Service, led by the Nasarawa State spokesman, ASP Umaru Ismaila, intervened, and tried to force the reporter from their grip.
Reporters, who were present at the Lafia Square venue of the inauguration, said the thugs grew in number, as they dragged their colleague, smashing him in the process, until he was unconscious.
Journalists who tried to take photographs of the attack on their colleagues were accosted by the governor’s Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Yakubu Lamai, who was also engaged in fisticuffs with some security operatives, who captured the scene with their phones.
The reporter was rushed to a nearby hospital, by a team of Nigeria Red Cross personnel, who had to blare their ambulance siren, to clear the way through the crowd at the venue of the inauguration. The attack happened at about 11:28am, before the governor, and two of his predecessors, as well as other prominent figures in the state