The 2011 Abuja police headquarters bombing was believed to be the first suicide bombing in Nigeria

Nigeria

Nigeria , officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal constitutional republic comprising 36 states and its Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The country is located in West Africa and shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger in...

's history. The attack happened on June 16, 2011, when a suicide bomber drove a car bomb onto the premises of the Louis Edet House in Abuja

Abuja

Abuja is the capital city of Nigeria. It is located in the centre of Nigeria, within the Federal Capital Territory . Abuja is a planned city, and was built mainly in the 1980s. It officially became Nigeria's capital on 12 December 1991, replacing Lagos...

, the headquarters of the Nigeria Police Force

Nigeria Police Force

The Nigeria Police formerly known as the Nigeria Police Force is the national police of Nigeria.-Authority:The Nigeria Police Force is designated by Section 194 of the 1979 constitution as the national police of Nigeria with exclusive jurisdiction throughout the country...

. He may have been trying to kill Inspector-General of Police

Inspector-General of Police

An inspector-general of police is a high-ranking police officer.-Ghana:In Ghana, inspector general of police is the title of the head of the Ghana Police Service.-India:...

 Hafiz Ringim, whose convoy he followed into the compound, but he was stopped by security before he could do so.

The bomber and a traffic policeman were killed, though authorities said up to six people may have been killed.

The violent Islamist group Boko Haram

Boko Haram

Boko Haram is a Nigerian Islamist group that seeks the imposition of Shariah law throughout the whole of Nigeria. The group presently has an undefined structure and chain of command...

claimed the explosion.