At least 29 people were killed when a suicide bomber detonated explosives during a procession of Shi'ite Muslims marking the ceremony of Ashura in north-eastern Nigeria.
Ashura, is a solemn day when Shias mourn the martyrdom of Prophet Mohammad's grandson Imam Hussein in 680 AD at Karbala.
In the attack, which took place in the town of Potiskum in Yobe state, the bomber detonated the explosives after joining the Shiite worshippers as they marched through the market, said resident Yusuf Abdullahi.
"I heard a very heavy explosion as if it happened in my room. It took place just 200 meters from my house," he said, reports Reuters.
Abdullahi said that the police also arrested another person who possessed an explosive device which did not detonate.
Meanwhile, in a separate incident, gunmen using explosives blew their way into a prison in central Kogi state and freed 145 inmates on Sunday, prison chief Omale Adams told The Associated Press.
Adams said that one prisoner died in the attack, while 12 prisoners who escaped were recaptured on Monday.
The prison is situated in the central part of Nigeria where attacks by the Islamic extremist group Boko Haram happen intermittently. However, authorities have not officially declared that the militant group was behind the attack on the prison.
According to rights activists, Boko Haram, which has been waging an insurgency in Nigeria for more than five years, has killed 2000 people this year alone.
The Nigerian government announced last month that the militant group had agreed to a ceasefire and that they were holding talks with the militants for the release of more than 200 schoolgirls who were kidnapped by the militants in April. However, the fightings and kidnappings have continued and Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau said in a video released Friday that the kidnapped girls were converted to Islam and married off.
