2011 Abuja United Nations bombing

2011 Abuja United Nations bombing
Part of Nigerian Sharia conflict
LocationAbuja, FCT, Nigeria
Date26 August 2011
11:00 WAT (UTC+01:00)
TargetUnited Nations compound
Attack type
Suicide bombing
Deaths21[1]
Injured73

The 2011 Abuja bombing was a car bomb explosion on Friday, 26 August 2011 in the Nigerian capital Abuja's UN building that killed at least 21 and wounded 60. A spokesperson from the Sunni Islamist group Boko Haram later claimed responsibility.[1]

At about 11:00 WAT in the diplomatic zone in the centre of the city the car bomb vehicle broke through two security barriers. Then its driver detonated the bomb after crashing it into the UN reception area. The bomb caused devastation to the building's lower floors. The building is said to be the headquarters for about 400 UN employees but it is not clear how many were inside the building at the time of the attack.

A wing of the building collapsed and the ground floor of the building was badly damaged. Emergency services were quickly on the scene removing dead bodies from the building and rushing the wounded to hospital. Cranes were brought to the blast site to move the mass of rubble and ensure that no-one is trapped there.[2]

The blast killed at least 21 people and injured 73. The Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Viola Onwuliri, said: "This is not an attack on Nigeria but on the global community. An attack on the world."[2] UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon described the attack as an 'assault on those who devote themselves to helping others'[3] The attack was the first suicide bombing in Nigeria to attack an international organisation.[4]

In September 2011 the Nigerian Department of State Security alleged that Mamman Nur was the mastermind behind the attack and offered a ₦26 million (US$160,000) bounty.[5][6] Also four men appeared in an Abuja magistrates' court charged with organising the bombing, and were remanded in custody to a federal high court hearing.

  1. ^ a b Nossiter, Adam (28 August 2011). "Islamic Group Says It Was Behind Fatal Nigeria Attack". The New York Times. Retrieved 28 August 2011.
  2. ^ a b BBC (26 August 2011). "Abuja attack: Car bomb hits Nigeria UN building". BBC News. Retrieved 26 August 2011.
  3. ^ "Abuja bombing: UN offices hit by deadly blast". The Guardian. Retrieved on 28 August 2011.
  4. ^ "Terrorism in Nigeria: A dangerous new level". The Economist. 3 September 2011. Retrieved 7 September 2011.
  5. ^ "Nigerian authorities seek alleged mastermind of deadly UN headquarters bombing". The Washington Post. 18 September 2011.[dead link]
  6. ^ Imobo-Tswam, Simon (19 September 2011). "Nigeria: UN Building – Video of Boko Haram Bomber Released". allAfrica.com.