Nigeria: Five killed in suicide bombing in Borno state Sep. 26

Event

Reports indicate that a suicide bomber attacked a mosque during morning prayers in the northeastern town of Dikwa (Borno state) on Tuesday, September 26, killing five people. Boko Haram is suspected of being responsible for the attack.

Context

Dikwa is located around 90 km (55 mi) from Maiduguri, the capital of Borno state. The town has suffered from several suicide attacks in the past, the most recent of which occurred on July 28 when a woman detonated a person-borne improvised explosive device in a compound housing newly returned internally displaced persons, killing 14 and injuring a further 28.

The northeastern region of Nigeria is highly susceptible to attacks by Boko Haram, which pledged allegiance to the Islamic State (IS) in March 2015 and formally adopted the name of Islamic State in West Africa. Al-Barnaoui, son of Mohammed Yusuf - the founder of Boko Haram - was nominated by IS in August 2016 to replace Abubakar Shekau, leader of Boko Haram since 2009. Since then, the two leaders have been leading dissident factions with divergent ambitions, Al-Barnaoui blaming Shekau for massacring civilians rather than focusing on military targets.
Public venues (markets, places of worship, schools, bars, areas where broadcasts of sports competitions are displayed, etc.) as well as security forces and governmental buildings are frequently targeted by attacks, suicide bombings, and kidnappings (regularly followed by assassinations and targeting primarily foreign nationals).

Advice

The security environment in Nigeria is complex and particularly poor in the northeast and extreme south of the country due to the presence of armed groups, high crime rates, and the risk of kidnapping. Some Western governments consequently advise against travel to certain areas of the northeast (e.g. states of Borno, Yobe, Gombe, Bauchi, and Jigawa as well as parts of Kano and Adamawa states) and the southern Niger Delta region (e.g. states of Delta, Bayelsa, Akwa Ibom, and Rivers). Professional security advice and support should be sought prior to travel to these areas.