Citing a medical source, the Guardian reported that at least 21 people were killed in an explosion that had ripped a viewing center for the 2014 World Cup matches apart in northern Nigeria. The blast had taken place on Tuesday night in the Nayi-Nama area of Damaturu. Residents have said that the bomb appeared to have been hidden in a motorized rickshaw just outside the venue, where crowds have been watching the tournament match between World Cup host Brazil and Mexico.
The British paper said that the blast would be the latest in a series of attacks at football viewing centers in the country that had been blamed on the militants, who have since been waging a deadly insurgency in the northern area of Nigeria since 2009.
The source added, "The bodies are being kept in the morgue while the injured are receiving treatment at the accident and emergency unit before they are moved to the ward," the source said. The victims are young men and children. They have burns, ruptured tissue and bone fractures."
The hospital source said that soldiers and police who were on the scene had brought in the dead and injured from the scene of the blast, and that the area has been cordoned off quickly.
Nigeria has claimed football as its national sport, and could be counted on as a country with a heavy football following. However, authorities have taken the precaution of shutting down big-screen venues for security purposes since a string of blasts that targeted fans in north-east Adamawa and the central state of Plateau. Nigerians, who have been cheering their team "Super Eagles," would have been eager to congregate and cheer for the team. Several has already chosen to view the team's matches against other national teams at home for their own safety.
Since May last year, Adamawa and Yobe, with Damaturu as the capital, have both been declared under a state of emergency to curb the violence. However, the measure had proven to be of little success.
