Two women wearing hijabs attempted to board a commercial vehicle (bus) at a roadside bus stop in Ngamdu village, telling the driver they wanted to travel to Damaturu. The driver became suspicious of the women, noting their disheveled appearance, and refused to take them, claiming he was not going as far as Damaturu. After the bus departed, one of the women—who had the bomb strapped around her waist—detonated her explosives. The blast killed her instantly, ignited explosives carried by the second woman, and killed two other bystanders who were waiting at the bus stop. Witnesses reported that the two women appeared to be in their late 20s
28 Feb 2015 · Ngamdu village, Damaturu, Yobe
Deaths
4
Injured
0
Kidnapped
0
Total casualties
4
Perpetrators
Boko Haram
Response
No specific military or police response was documented in the immediate aftermath.
Displacement
0
Socioeconomic drivers
The attack demonstrated Boko Haram's increasing reliance on female suicide bombers, a tactic that allowed them to evade security checks by hiding explosives under hijab garments . The use of two bombers together suggested coordinated planning
Trajectory
This incident occurred during a period of intense military pressure on Boko Haram, as troops from Nigeria, Chad, Niger and Cameroon were bombarding rebel strongholds in the northeast, including the recapture of Baga the previous weekend. The botched bombing in Ngamdu was one of nearly 90 people killed in explosions blamed on Boko Haram that week alone, all of them at crowded bus stations in northern and central regions. The attack also came during a peak period of the group's use of female suicide bombers (from late 2014 through 2015), when Boko Haram was increasingly relying on women and young girls to carry out attacks, possibly as a result of being pushed out of major strongholds.
Cycle notes
Mirrored earlier female-led suicide bombings in northeastern Nigeria, such as the 15 February 2015 Damaturu bus station bombing and the 22 February 2015 Potiskum market bombing, reflecting a recurring tactic by Boko Haram of deploying women or girls in pairs to strike crowded civilian areas, often targeting transport hubs or marketplaces, to inflict casualties while exploiting the lower likelihood of security suspicion against females.
Pattern
Suicide Bombing
Related — Bombing/IED
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As President Buhari's plane was preparing to land at the Maiduguri International Airport, ISWAP launched at least five 122mm GRAD rockets into the city. The rockets landed in several communities, including Ngomari Ayabe, Bulumkutu, and Ajilari Cross, which are located within a five-kilometer radius of the Air Force Base and the airport.