Nigerian president survives suicide attack

Mr. Jonathan is also a presidential candidate in the upcoming election on February 14.

Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan yesterday (January 2) escaped death in a suicide attack that occurred just as he was leaving a meeting in northeastern Nigeria.

Mr. Jonathan (photo: newsrescue)

The attack comes as the Boko Haram Islamist group is stepping up threats of attacks ahead of the presidential election in mid-February.

According to local police, the attack took place on the Gombe stadium car park just minutes after President Goodluck Jonathan left. No group has yet claimed responsibility for the attack, but the perpetrators are suspected to be two women.

Mr Jonathan, who is also a presidential candidate in the February 14 election, arrived in Gombe yesterday to meet members of the ruling People’s Democratic Party. The city was also the target of a double bomb attack on a security checkpoint over the weekend, killing five people.

The Boko Haram insurgency has left the region facing a serious security crisis. The four countries directly affected, Cameroon, Chad, Niger and Nigeria, recently agreed to form a joint force to deal with the Islamist group.

Immediately after yesterday's attack, the Nigerian government announced that, with the support of neighboring countries, the country's army regained control of the cities of Mapha, Mallam, Fatori, Abadam, Marte and Gamburu, cities in Borno state that had been occupied by rebels for many days./.

According to VOV