News / Africa

4 Suspects in Nigeria UN Bombing Make Court Appearance

Men believed to be members of Islamist sect Boko Haram are suspected of being involved in a series of bomb attacks, wait for the start of a court session at the Wuse magistrate court in Nigeria's capital Abuja, September 13, 2011.
Men believed to be members of Islamist sect Boko Haram are suspected of being involved in a series of bomb attacks, wait for the start of a court session at the Wuse magistrate court in Nigeria's capital Abuja, September 13, 2011.
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Prosecutors in Nigeria have accused four men of organizing last month's suicide bombing on the United Nations headquarters in Nigeria.

Prosecutors told a court in Abuja on Friday that the four men - Salisu Mohammed, Yunisa Mukaila, Danzumi Haruna and Abdulsalami Adamu - are members of the radical Islamist sect Boko Haram, which claimed responsibility for the attack on the U.N. building.

They say the men conspired together to send a suicide bomber to the facility. The accused did not enter pleas Friday as the magistrate's court said the crimes should be handled by a higher court. The judge ordered the suspects to be held until a court appearance on November 3.

Prosecutors Friday said 25 people died in the August suicide attack, up from a U.N. toll of 23.

Boko Haram has been blamed for many bombings and shootings aimed at authority figures in northeastern Nigeria, and has also claimed responsibility for the June bombing of Nigeria's national police headquarters in Abuja.

The group wants a strict form of Islamic law applied more widely across Africa's most populous nation.

Some information for this report was provided by AP and AFP.

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