A suicide bomber blew himself on the outskirts of the northeast Nigerian city of Maiduguri.
At least five people have been killed and 10 others wounded after a suicide bomber blew himself up near a leprosy hospital on the outskirts of the northeast Nigerian city of Maiduguri, emergency services said.
The blast occurred at around 5.30 pm (local time) yesterday when the bomber, who tried to gain access to the hospital, detonated his explosives outside the building.
"Five people were killed and 10 others injured near the Molai leprosy hospital when a male bomber blew himself up," said Mohammed Kanar, regional coordinator for the National Emergency Management Agency.
"The bomber had wanted to get entry into the hospital but was contemplating how to pass through security checks at the gate when the bomb went off."
He added: "We took the bodies and the injured to the specialist hospital (in Maiduguri)."
Local resident Ibrahim Bulama said the bomber was one of three men who were dropped off near the hospital by a SUV vehicle.
"They looked around for a while, obviously trying to sneak into the hospital," Bulama said, adding that the facility was being guarded by civilian vigilantes who are assisting the military in the fight against Boko Haram Islamist insurgents.
"Suddenly, the explosives on one of them went off. The other two fled in the confusion. Five people were killed and 10 others injured."
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the bombing, but Nigeria's Borno state, where the attack took place, has been the hardest hit by the Boko Haram insurgency which has left at least 15,000 people dead.
Boko Haram, which has been fighting to establish a hardline Islamic state in northeast Nigeria since 2009, has intensified its campaign of violence in the last month.