Almost 50 students and teachers were killed after a suicide bomber dressed as a student infiltrated the morning assembly at a high school in northern Nigeria on Monday, according to news reports.
Although there has been no confirmation as to who is responsible for the bombing and the death of the students and staff, suspicion has reportedly focused on the Boko Haram militant group, which has carried out similar horrible attacks in that part of Nigeria, according to the NY Times.
79 people were wounded in the bombing which took place in the government boarding school in the town of Potiskum, police spokesman Emmanuel Ojukwu stated, according to CNN.
"We suspect Boko Haram is behind the attack," stated Ojukwu.
The explosion reportedly took place at 7:50a.m. local time outside the principal's office, where students had gathered for a daily speech.
"We were waiting for our teachers to come and address us at the assembly ground when we heard a huge explosion," stated student Adamu Ibrahim.
It is reportedly not clear how many of the casualties were students.
The Boko Haram has previously killed students before when they reportedly opened fire and threw explosives in student hostels in a government boarding school in the town of Buni Yaho, in Yobe state in February. Last year, 42 students were reportedly killed by the group when gunmen attacked dormitories with guns and explosives in a government boarding school near Potiskum.
Boko Haram was also reportedly suspected for a bombing which occurred just last week, which involved a suicide bomber blowing himself up in Potiskum, killing 15 people.
In mid-October, Nigeria's top military official had reportedly announced a cease-fire with Boko Haram while another senior government official had spoken of a deal to release the 200 schoolgirls that were abducted in April. Despite the announcement, the leader of the militant group had reportedly replied with a videotaped message that contradicted the statements, according to Nigerian news outlets.
"Who agreed to a cease-fire? You are not serious," he was quoted as saying in the video.
