Heroic dog saves wedding party from suicide bomber

MAIDUGURI: A dog in a Nigerian city is being hailed as a hero after it saved guests at a wedding party from a suicide bomber after it was about to blow herself up.

Officials say that dog grappled with a suicide bomber until her explosives detonated, killing the animal as well.

Buba Ahmed of Belbelo village, near the northeastern city of Maiduguri, says guests are grateful that the dog sacrificed itself to save their lives.

He says the teenage bomber was on the outskirts of a gathering where most villagers were attending a wedding ceremony when the dog pounced on her.

Police spokesman Victor Isuku said the bomber, believed to be from Boko Haram, had been making her way into the wedding party on Sunday morning when the dog attacked her.

“This forced the suspect to detonate her explosive, while battling to wriggle herself from the claws and jaws of the dog,” he said in a statement reported by Nigerian media.

“The dog stopped the teenage suicide bomber from detonating her strapped improvised explosive devices on the wedding crowd of people.”

No guests were injured but the dog was killed by the explosion, alongside the bomber.

No further details were given about the dog, which is understood to have belonged to one of the wedding party guests.

Mr Isuku said the attempted bombing happened just a few hours after three other suicide bombers blew themselves up at two other locations not far from the wedding ceremony.

Extremist group Boko Haram has a history of using women or children for such assaults, especially in Borno state, of which Maiduguri is the capital.

The females can be used as sex slaves or human bombs, while boys are also abducted and forced to fight.