Story highlights
The targeted area was previously attacked by Boko Haram
Local leaders are calling for government protection
Twin bombings killed at least 31 people at a market in Madagali, Nigeria, on Friday in an apparent suicide attack carried out by two females, a military spokesman said.
The “female bombers detonated an IED (improvised explosive device) inside a local market,” according to a tweet from the National Emergency Management Agency in Nigeria.
Residents of Madagali, in northeast Nigeria’s Adamawa state, said the explosions also resulted in numerous injuries.
“The military are in full control of the security situation in the area so there is no security threat,” said military spokesman Maj. Badare Akintoye.
Madagali is located on the border with Borno state, the birthplace of the militant group Boko Haram, and has incurred many attacks and abductions since the military retook the area from the militants in 2015.
The attacks have prevented residents from resuming normal commercial and social activities in the area, locals said.
Local leaders have called on Nigeria’s government to deploy soldiers to villages and bushes connecting the area with Sambisa Forest, where Boko Haram militants are believed to have set up camps.