Bomb explodes on edge of Nigerian capital, 5 hurt

A bomb exploded near a church in the Nigerian town of Suleja, on the edge of the capital, on Sunday, wounding five people, a spokesman for the emergency services said.    

A Reuters reporter on the street near the Christ Embassy Church saw five vehicles with their glass shattered, two of them largely destroyed. Grey ash was cast across the ground.    

"No person died in the Suleja explosion. One person was seriously injured and is now in hospital. Four victims had minor injuries while five vehicles were damaged," said Yushua Shuaib, a spokesman for the National Emergency Management Agency.    

The street seemed otherwise largely unscathed. Soldiers cordoned the area off and were patrolling in large numbers.    

Nigerian officials say Suleja and surrounding Niger state have been infiltrated by militants from the Boko Haram Islamist sect which is waging an insurgency against the Nigerian government, formerly confined to the largely Muslim far north and northeast.    

The sect, which wants sharia law more widely applied across Africa's most populous nation, has become increasingly sophisticated and deadly in its methods in the last six months.    

Reuters