POTISKUM, Nigeria (AP) — A suicide bomber disguised in school uniform
detonated explosives at a high school assembly in the northeast Nigerian
city of Potiskum on Monday, killing at least 48 students, according to
survivors and a morgue attendant.
Soldiers rushed to the scene, grisly with body parts, in the capital of
Yobe state, but they were chased away with stones and calls by people
angry at the military’s inability to halt a 5-year-old Islamic insurgency
that has killed thousands and driven hundreds of thousands from their
homes.
A suicide bomb attack in the same city killed 30 people one week ago, when
suspected Boko Haram fighters attacked a religious procession of moderate
Muslims.
Some 2,000 students had gathered for Monday morning’s weekly assembly at
the Government Technical Science College when the explosion blasted
through the school hall, according to survivors who spoke on condition of
anonymity for fear of repercussions.
“We were waiting for the principal to address us, around 7:30 a.m., when
we heard a deafening sound and I was blown off my feet, people started
screaming and running, I saw blood all over my body,” 17-year-old student
Musa Ibrahim Yahaya said from the general hospital, where he was being
treated for head wounds.
Hospital workers said dozens are being treated including people with
serious injuries that may need amputations.
A morgue attendant said 48 bodies were brought to the hospital and all
appeared to be between the ages of 11 and 20 years old. He spoke on
condition of anonymity because he is not authorized to give information to
reporters.
Survivors said the bomber appeared to have hidden the explosives in the
type of rucksack popular with students. Months ago Nigeria’s military had
reported finding a bomb factory where explosives were being sewn into
rucksacks in the northern city of Kano.
Many Nigerians are angry that Boko Haram has increased attacks and
bombings since the government on Oct. 17 claimed to have brokered a
cease-fire. Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau has denied negotiating a
truce.