Seemingly operating with impunity, Boko Haram extremists have killed more than 30 people in brazen attacks on two more villages near Chibok school, the place where they kidnapped more than 200 schoolgirls last month.
The latest attacks were disclosed as two massive car bombs killed at least 118 people in the city of Jos, with Boko Haram seen as the likeliest perpetrators.
Twenty people were reported killed in Alagarno and at least 11 in Shawa, which less than 30 kilometres from Chibok, near the Sambisa Forest, where Boko Haram members are believed to have secret camps.
Between 60 and 70 per cent of Shawa was razed by Boko Haram attackers on motorcycles, residents said.
"Some of my close relatives were killed," said Pogu Bitrus, national chairman of the Kibaku Area Development Association, a community group in the area.
"Some people from neighbouring villages came to their assistance, but before they could arrive, Boko Haram had done their attack," he said in an interview in Abuja.
The predominantly Christian village is so remote that cellphones function poorly, but reports were relayed to Mr. Bitrus from residents in the area.
In the Jos explosions, at least 118 were killed and dozens wounded in two bomb blasts that caused buildings to collapse in a crowded market area of the Nigerian city of Jos, authorities say.
The massive car bombs on Tuesday, just a few minutes apart, were the latest in a deadly wave of bombings across Nigeria over the past few weeks, raising fears that the extremist group Boko Haram has become powerful enough to expand its terrorist operations far outside its traditional strongholds and into new regions of the country.
By expanding its targets to new regions, Boko Haram could complicate the Nigerian government's efforts to rescue more than 200 schoolgirls who were kidnapped by the Islamist extremists last month.
In Jos, the timing of the two blasts seemed deliberately aimed at killing as many people as possible. Rescue workers who responded to the first explosion are believed to be among the victims of the second blast.
A Nigerian television channel showed the exact moment of the second explosion: a huge ball of fire and thick clouds of smoke, followed by screams and panic as thousands of people fled through crowded streets of the business district, near a bus terminal and teaching hospital, where many people had been shopping or trading on Tuesday afternoon.
Many of the bodies were badly burned, some beyond recognition, photos showed. In addition to the 118 dead, there were at least 56 injured, reports said.
Early reports suggested a lower death toll, but the sharply higher estimate was disclosed by the co-ordinator of Nigeria's national emergency agency, NEMA, according to reports by the AFP news agency. More bodies might still be buried in the debris of the collapsed buildings, the agency said.
Since mid-April, a wave of bombs has hit Nigeria's capital, Abuja, and its second-biggest city, Kano, and now the city of Jos in the country's "middle belt" region. More than 200 people are believed to have died in the explosions over the past five weeks.
The latest attacks included a bomb on Sunday night that killed five people on a busy street in a largely Christian enclave of Kano, along with a foiled attack the next day when police discovered a car wired with explosive material in the same city.
Boko Haram normally operates in northeastern Nigeria, where it abducted more than 200 schoolgirls from the village of Chibok last month, sparking global outrage. But the latest bombings are hundreds of kilometres to the south and west, suggesting that Boko Haram is now ranging widely across the country.
In the past, Jos has been the scene of sectarian clashes between Muslim and Christian groups that killed hundreds of people, but the city has been largely peaceful for the past two years. A crucial question will be whether the latest bombings ignite a renewed conflict between Muslims and Christians in the city.
President Goodluck Jonathan said he "strongly condemns" the bombings in Jos, and he described the perpetrators of this "tragic assault on human freedom" as "cruel and evil."
In a statement read by his press secretary, Mr. Jonathan said he "assures all Nigerians that the government remains fully committed to winning the war against terror." He added: "This administration will not be cowed by the atrocities of enemies of human progress and civilization."
Canada is among several Western countries that have sent military experts to help search for the kidnapped schoolgirls. Canada has sent special forces soldiers, surveillance equipment and personnel to operate the equipment.
Mr. Jonathan announced at a Paris security summit on the weekend that he had deployed 20,000 troops to northeastern Nigeria to fight Boko Haram and rescue the kidnapped schoolgirls. But it was revealed on Tuesday that he has now decided to send a further group of military reinforcements to the region.
No troop numbers were disclosed for the latest deployment. A spokesman said only that Mr. Jonathan has "ordered the deployment of additional troops to reinforce the ongoing military operations in the northeastern zone of the country."
Meanwhile, the president also promised to "ensure the safety and security of schools" in the northeast and the rest of the country. In his statement on Tuesday, he said the government will "rebuild the Chibok school and fortify security in schools." It will also provide "counselling services to any affected students to enable them to return to school and continue with their academic work," he said in the statement.
Mr. Jonathan also asked for a six-month extension of the state of emergency in three states of northeastern Nigeria where Boko Haram is most active. The extension was approved by Nigeria's senate on Tuesday.