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ABUJA. — A bombing at a bus station packed with morning commuters on the outskirts of Nigeria’s capital killed 71 people and wounded 124 yesterday, with the president blaming the attack on Boko Haram Islamists.
The explosion rocked the Nyanya Station south of Abuja, leaving body parts scattered across the terminal and destroying dozens of vehicles.

It was the deadliest single attack ever to hit Nigeria’s Federal Capital Territory, which includes Abuja and surrounding areas.

Much of Boko Haram’s recent violence has targeted the remote northeast, but a major bombing just a few kilometres from the seat of government will likely raise further doubt over Nigeria’s ability to contain the Islamist violence.

The explosion “emanated from a vehicle” parked within the station, said Charles Otegbade, head of search and rescue at the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA).

National police spokesman Frank Mba put the toll at 71 dead and 124 injured, with the wounded being treated at area hospitals.

Visiting the site, President Goodluck Jonathan vowed that Nigeria would overcome the brutal insurgency being waged by Boko Haram, blamed for killing thousands across the north and centre of the country since 2009.

“The issue of Boko Haram is quite an ugly history within this period of our own development,” Jonathan said. “But we will get over it . . . The issue of Boko Haram is temporary.”

The Islamists, who say they want to create a strict Islamic state in northern Nigeria, have previously bombed areas in and around the capital, including a 2011 car bombing at the United Nations headquarters in the city that killed at least 26 people.

The explosions left a hole roughly 1.2 metres deep and spread debris across the compound, an AFP reporter President Jonathan, who is expected to face a tough re-election battle next year, has faced intense criticism over the continuing Boko Haram violence.

With the recent unrest concentrated in the northeast, President Jonathan had been able to claim that progress was being made in the battle against the Islamist rebels. — AFP.