We bombed Apapa, says Boko Haram leader

Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau has claimed responsibility for the June 25 blasts near Folawiyo Energy fuel depot in Apapa, Lagos.

The mystery blasts killed five persons and the suicide bomber was said to be someone in hijab ─ which could be a man or a woman.

Shekau made this claim in a new video made available to AFP (pictured) in which he also said Boko Haram was responsible for the Abuja blast of the same day which killed 22 persons, including a newspaper editor.

His videos are usually first delivered to the French news agency before they go online.

TheCable had initially reported on the day of the incident that the blasts were carried out by a suicide bomber, but a spokesman for Folawiyo Energy, Mr. Muyiwa Adekeye, issued a statement denying the incident altogether.

The Lagos State government also said the explosion was from a gas canister, apparently to prevent public panic.

But Shekau has now claimed in the new video: “A bomb went off in Lagos. I ordered the bomber who went and detonated it.” He did not say if it was a man or a woman.

He taunted Lagos Governor Babatunde Fashola, whom he erroneously called “Adams Oshiomhole”, saying: “You said it was a fire incident. Well, if you hide it from people you can’t hide it from Allah.”

This is the first recorded Boko Haram attack in Lagos since the insurgency started in 2009.

As reported by TheCable, Fashola is already putting measures in place to prevent future attacks as well as respond in the event of a successful one.

Doctors are undergoing training on basic emergency response, while more ambulances have been deployed in strategic locations.

He has also been meeting with different interest groups and community leaders on preventative security measures.