Deadly blast hits Nigerian medical college

At least eight people were killed and 20 wounded by an explosion at a college campus in the heart of the northern Nigerian city of Kano on Monday, police said.

It was not yet clear who carried out the attack but initial suspicion fell on Boko Haram, the armed group that has bombed many educational targets during a five-year uprising. 

The blast at the Kano State School of Hygiene came from a parking lot near the office of the school's provost, and while there were no classes on campus because of a term break, new students were reportedly on the grounds for registration, AFP reported. 

Police took one suspect in for questioning, state police commissioner Adenrele Shinaba told reporters. The blast was so severe that several cars parked nearby were badly damaged, he said. He said 20 people were taken to the hospital, but eight died.

Last month a suicide car bomber killed five people on a Kano street lined with popular bars and restaurants, in an area mostly inhabited by southern Christians.

It comes amid a surge in violence from Boko Haram. International attention to the armed group has been high since April, when it abducted more than 200 girls from a rural school in northeast Nigeria.

The fate of the girls remains unknown amid a stalling investigation to track them down. Nigeria's military has said it knows where they are but fears the abductors would kill them if any military action were taken. 

Boko Haram is demanding the release of hundreds of detainees in return for the girls, but Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan has said he will not consider a prisoner swap.

On Saturday, scores of Boko Haram fighters attacked four villages near Chibok town, from which the girls were kidnapped. Witnesses said Monday that at least 33 villagers were killed as well as six vigilantes from civilian groups that have recently had some success in repelling Boko Haram.

A spokesman for the vigilantes, Muhammed Gava, said his group killed at least 25 armed men.

Villagers who escaped said the attackers drove into town Saturday morning and just opened fire on anyone in sight. When people tried to escape into the bush, they pursued them on motorbikes and shot them down, said survivors who walked to Chibok. They spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals.

Boko Haram's uprising, which the group says is aimed at creating a strict Islamic state in the north, has left thousands dead since 2009.

Wire services