Explosion rocks crowded mosque in Nigeria, killing at least five

The blast tore through a mosque in Maiduguri, Borno State as worshippers gathered for evening prayers, witnesses say.Published On 24 Dec 2025An explosion has ripped through a mosque in northeastern Nigeria as worshippers gathered for their evening prayers, killing at least five people and wounding dozens more, police said.The blast took place at about 6pm on Wednesday (17:00 GMT) in the city of Maiduguri in Borno State, witnesses told the media.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3Nigeria must not become America’s next battlefieldlist 2 of 3Nigeria says 130 kidnapped Catholic schoolchildren freedlist 3 of 3Wasteful Nigeria edge past Tanzania to make winning start to AFCON 2025end of listPolice said five people died and 35 were injured in the attack, which it said is likely a suicide attack.“Preliminary investigations further suggest that the incident may have been a suicide bombing, based on the recovery of fragments of a suspected suicide vest and witness statements recorded, while investigations are ongoing to establish the exact cause and circumstances,” Nahum Daso, spokesperson for Borno state police command, said in a statement.Daso said police were conducting a sweep of the area in Maiduguri’s Gamboru market in search of secondary devices.Mosque leader Malam Abuna Yusuf earlier told the AFP news agency that at least eight people had died in the attack, while a militia leader, Babakura Kolo, put the figure at seven.Another witness, Musa Yusha’u, told AFP that he saw “many victims being taken away for medical treatment”.The cause of the blast was not immediately known, but it occurred ‍in a ⁠city that has been at the heart of an armed rebellion waged by Boko Haram and ISIL’s (ISIS) offshoot in the region, the Islamic State West Africa Province, for nearly two decades.No group has claimed responsibility for the attack, but the use of suicide bombers has been heavily attributed to Boko Haram.