Boko Haram’s use of female suicide bombers, however, is a relatively new tactic.
Experts believe that older women may willingly become human bombs as they share the Islamists’ radical ideology or are out to avenge the death of loved ones at the hands of the military.
But the young ages of some — such as the girl in Maiduguri — and the actions of a 15-year-old who was one of Sunday’s bombers in Potiskum, strongly suggest coercion.
A civilian vigilante who witnessed the Maiduguri bombing said of the girl: “I doubt if she actually knew what was strapped to her body.”
Another eye-witness said it appeared that the bomb was remote-controlled, which chimes with testimony from other attacks across the wider north of Nigeria.
In Potiskum, a security official involved in the rescue operation said: “The second bomber was terrified by the explosion and she tried to dash across the road but she also exploded.”
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