21 die in Nigeria bomb blast: 17 injured

Nigerian authorities have arrested one suspect, and killed another, after an explosion claimed 21 lives in a shopping centre in the capital Abuja, a city gripped by fear of attacks by Mislim militants. Islamist outfit ‘Boko Haram’ is suspected to have carried out the bomb attack on Wednesday. The blast shook the Emab Plaza at 4:00pm (1500 GMT), the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) said, as shoppers were buying groceries ahead of the country’s World Cup match against Argentina, which kicked-off in Brazil, South America, an hour later. ‘The casualty figure for now is 21 persons dead, 17 injured,’ national police spokesman Frank Mba said, adding that a suspect had been arrested. Later the National Information Centre said a second suspect had been shot dead by troops as he tried to escape on a motorbike. Senior government spokesman Mike Omeri confirmed that the blast was the result of ‘a terrorist bomb attack’. Rescue teams were deployed to the scene and evacuated the victims from the area, NEMA spokesman Manzo Ezekiel told AFP.