Police in northern Nigeria have arrested a 10-year-old girl with explosives strapped to her chest, after a woman blew herself up at a university, killing six people.
The Times reports that the girl was arrested on Tuesday when police stopped a car they suspected of carrying insurgents. A government spokesman said she was with two 18-year-olds, who attempted to run away. He did not give her name, or say whether she was expected to carry out an attack.
Boko Haram, whose name means ‘Western education is forbidden’ are trying to create an Islamic state in northern Nigeria. The Al Qaeda-linked group have carried out numerous atrocities in the country, claiming to have killed up to 10,000 people.
The achieved international notoriety earlier this year when they kidnapped a whole class of schoolgirls, leading to celebrities and activists to post pictures on Twitter holding up signs saying “#BringBackOurGirls”.
Nigerian president Goodluck Jonathan has faced increasing criticism for his failure to rescue the girls after he pledged to never negotiate with the terrorists.
The 10-year-old girl is the latest in a series of girls to carry out attacks for Boko Haram. The woman who blew herself up the at a university did so as students gathered to check details of their summer assignments.
Officials say she stood next to a notice board, exploding her vest from within a large crowd of students.
Police in a nearby city had already banned people from driving cars during the Muslim festival of Eid, after fears they could be used to mount attacks.
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