5 blasts strike Nigeria following president’s inauguration

From Christian Purefoy, CNN

Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan was re-elected in April to serve his first full term.

Lagos, Nigeria (CNN) — Two more blasts struck Nigeria on Monday, bringing the total to five since President Goodluck Jonathan was inaugurated Sunday.

One blast Monday was directed at a military patrol in Maiduguri, in northern Nigeria, military spokesman Mohammed Yerima said. No casualties were reported.

The other was in Zaria, also in northern Nigeria. It was the second blast in Zaria in less than a day. On Sunday, an explosion struck a beer parlor in Zaria, wounding two people, National Emergency Management Agency spokesman Yushau Shauib said. There were no casualties reported in the bombings Monday.

The other two blasts Sunday were at a market in Bauchi, east of Zaria, and a beer hall in Zuba, on the outskirts of the Nigerian capital of Abuja.

In the Bauchi explosion, at least 13 people were killed and 20 were wounded, Shauib said. In the Zuba blast, two people were killed and 11 others were hospitalized, Shauib said.

In recent weeks, the African nation has been rocked by a series of bombings thought to be engineered by Boko Haram, an Islamic group that has challenged Nigeria’s government.

Explosions in Nigeria’s northeastern state of Borno killed a few and wounded dozens in late April in the days leading up to the national governorship elections. Police described the attacks as attempts to intimidate voters who had picked Jonathan.

Northern Muslims in some areas charged that the presidential election was rigged. Armed protesters in the region took to the streets chanting the name of former military ruler Muhammadu Buhari, the main opposition front-runner.

This is Jonathan’s first full term. As vice president, he took over the presidency in May 2010 upon the death of then-President Umaru Yar’Adua, who had suffered from a heart condition.

CNN’s Christian Purefoy contributed to this report.