A powerful bomb blew up inside the Nigerian police headquarters on Thursday, killing a suspected suicide bomber and wounding several bystanders, witnesses and officials said.
The blast tore into a police car park at the compound in the capital Abuja, throwing people to the ground and destroying several vehicles, they said.
If confirmed as a suicide blast, it would be the first such bombing in Nigeria as it faces a growing threat from Islamic militants, a security expert told AFP. “The police force headquarters has been bombed, everywhere is bombed,” deputy national police spokesman Yemi Ajayi told AFP by telephone soon after the explosion. “A suspected suicide bomber died in the incident. Many vehicles were destroyed,” emergency services spokesman Yushau Shuaib said.
An AFP correspondent saw a chunk of human flesh on the ground of car park where more than 20 cars were completely burnt. At least five people were admitted to hospital for wounds and two had been treated at the scene and sent home, Red Cross aid workers said.
A man in an apartment opposite the compound said he saw from his balcony a few blood-stained people on the ground. He was unable to tell if they were dead or not. There were several powerful blasts, he said on condition of anonymity. “There was a loud bang, my whole house shook as if the roof was about to come down. Then there was another blast. I heard four blasts,” he said.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack but it follows scores of others blamed on Islamic militants known as the Nigerian Taliban.
