Abuja, May 31 (IANS) A suicide bombing has killed at least 13 people at a mosque in the Nigerian city of Maiduguri, a media report said.
Dozens were wounded in the attack on Saturday, that followed an overnight assault on the north-eastern city by the militant group Boko Haram, BBC reported, citing eyewitnesses.
The attacks came just hours after Muhammadu Buhari was sworn in as Nigeria’s new president. He has vowed decisive action against Boko Haram.
In recent years, the militants have killed thousands of people — mostly in north-eastern Nigeria — in its attempt to set up an Islamic state.
So far no group has claimed responsibility for the bombing.
Late on Friday, Boko Haram fighters fired rocket-propelled grenades into the southern suburbs of Maiduguri.
The Nigerian army deployed armoured vehicles and fired back, forcing the militants to retreat.
In his first speech as president on Friday, Buhari reiterated his commitment to tackle the group, which he described as a “godless group, who are as far away from Islam as one can think”.
Buhari, a former military ruler, has taken over from Goodluck Jonathan, who had been in office since 2010.
Nigeria’s new president has also promised that the government would do everything it can to rescue more than 200 Chibok girls who were captured last year by Boko Haram.
He is the first opposition figure to win a presidential election in Nigeria since independence in 1960.