A mob has beaten a woman to death in Bauchi the capital of Bauchi State, north-east Nigeria, in the belief that she was a suicide bomber.
The woman, described to be a teenager, was attacked when she refused to be screened at the entrance to a market, but no explosives were found on her.
A series of suicide bombings in northern Nigeria has been blamed on Boko Haram militants seeking to establish an Islamic state in the north-east and an end to western education.
Witnesses said the mob put a tyre wet with petrol over the woman’s head and set it on fire after she was beaten.
Police said no arrests were made, noting that she was dead before they arrived on the scene to rescue her and disperse the mob.
“Victim Of Mob Action”
The exact circumstances of her death are unclear, as some reports said the dead woman was accompanied by another woman but other accounts said that she had a male escort.
An eyewitness said the woman came under suspicion when two bottles were found strapped to both sides of her waist, after she refused to be frisked with a metal detector.
“When her hijab was raised over her head two bottles were found strapped to her waist and the crowd descended on the young woman,” he said.
Police told the AP news agency that it was doubtful the woman was a bomber because she did not detonate any explosives when she was attacked.
Deputy Superintendent Mohammad Haruna described her as the victim of “mob action carried out by an irate crowd”.
Another police source said that she may have been sent on a dummy run to see if it was possible to enter the bus station without being searched.
Boko Haram has taken to sending women on suicide missions, fuelling concern that its insurgency has entered a more ruthless phase.
The general elections expected to hold by February 14 had been postponed because of the security challenges in the country to March 28 and April 11.
