Suicide Bomb Attack in Eastern Nigeria.

A suicide bomb attack ended the lives of four school children. This attack took place in Maiduguri, the capital of Borno, on a late Thursday night, 30^th January 2020. The attack happened at an Islamic school in North-Eastern, Nigeria. According to residents of the area, a girl of about 12 years of age detonated a bomb. The young girl reportedly set off the bomb at an outdoor class on a late Thursday night. Statements made revealed that at 19:00 GMT, the girl walked up to the group of boys who were ending their lesson.

“The girl then blew herself up in their midst.”

Suicide Bomb Attack in Maiduguri

The attack caused the deaths of four boys. Another similar attack happened earlier on the same day, January 30^th, 2020, involving a girl suicide bomb attacker. The attack coincidentally occurred in the same place, Maiduguri. Reports said a young girl around 12 years of age stomped into a resident’s house and set off her explosives. The detonation of the explosives injured one individual and destroyed his home.

The residents of Maiduguri, the capital of Borno state, remain in constant worry for their lives. The locals cry and fear for their lives as they have been repeatedly targeted by suicide bomb attackers. No action has been taken to make the area safer by the people’s government. This state of reluctance by the government has only made their situation worsen, especially with these sought of attacks bearing striking similarities with attacks by the terrorist group Boko Haram.

The Boko Haram terrorist group

Boko Haram gained global recognition in the year 2014 April. It was uncommon for this terrorist group to utilize suicide bombings and women suicide bombers in its activities. However, in 2014 they started using female suicide bombers in their operations. In 2014 the Islamist terrorist group kidnapped 276 schoolgirls from a boarding school in Chibok, Nigeria. Two months after the kidnappings at Chibok, the first-ever female suicide bomber was dispatched. From then on, this horrific trend continued, and they not only used male suicide bombers but females as well.

Suicide Bomb attack girls, women, and children

By the ending of 2014, more than half of Boko Haram bombers were girls and women. Some girls were as young as seven years old. From the year 2014 till now, Boko Haram has deployed 469 female suicide bombers. These bombers have killed more than 1,200 people from their participation in attacks. These numerous deaths signify that Boko Haram has utilized more female suicide bombers than any other terrorist group.

Boko Haram has increasingly made use of children in carrying out their terrible plans. The reason for this is because children, especially those they kidnap form loving families, are easy to manipulate. People as well don’t view children as threats, and so it’s easier for them to attack targets without being detected. Children have also provided Boko Haram a cheap source of labor, which can quickly be replenished by kidnappings.

Some Boko Haram member even offer their children up to be suicide bombers as a sign of loyalty. Children that grow up in terrorist camps have a higher tendency to adopt extreme violence, and some may even want to be suicide bombers. Children are easier to a drug with substances that probably make them more willing to launch suicide attacks. This only makes it possible for the Boko Haram group to flourish in its tactics of using suicide bombers more and more.