Landmine kills eight in Nigeria

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By Ahmed Kingimi

LAGOS (Reuters) – At least eight people were killed after a bus travelling along the Maiduguri-Damboa road in Nigeria’s northeast Borno state on Saturday detonated a landmine, security sources and travellers said.

Landmines are common in the northeast region where the Islamist group Boko Haram frequently launches attacks on security facilities and civilian communities, and has kidnapped hundreds of school children in the past.

Seven other travellers were taken to the intensive care unit of a hospital in the capital Maiduguri, while 14 people sustained minor injuries in the incident, according to Governor Babagana Zulum.

Abor Kachallah, a local vigilante officer, told Reuters on the phone that the incident occurred at about 11:45 a.m.

Usman Idi, a traveller from Damboa town in Borno, also told Reuters on the phone that there was a heavy movement of military personnel towards the scene of the incident shortly after the explosion.

“Yes, we saw the vehicle with the remains of the commercial bus that rammed into landmines buried by Boko Haram at Gidan Kaji, some 30 kilometers (19 miles) away from Damboa town,” Idi said.

When contacted, Kenneth Daso, the police spokesperson in the state, said he was “still gathering reports about the incident.”

While visiting the survivors in the hospital, Zulum said the government would foot the bills of those injured. The governor urged the security agencies to intensify efforts in combating insurgency and securing major roads across the state.

Last year, at least seven soldiers were killed after a mine exploded on a highway in the northeastern state.

(Reporting by Ahmed Kingimi. Writing by Ben Ezeamalu; Editing by Marguerita Choy)