The
Sabon Gari area of Kano metropolis was yesterday rocked by multiple
bomb blasts which occurred at Igbo Road/Enugu Road and on New Road,
opposite Ado Bayero Square.
The
development was said to have sent panic-gripped residents running
helter-skelter in the ensuing confusion, witnesses around both scenes
told LEADERSHIP via telephone last night.
Security
agencies confirmed the incident but said they were still gathering
details at the time of filing this report, however, a witness claimed
that about 25 people died during the attack by unknown gunmen, and there
was report of ongoing sporadic gunshots at press time.
Security
forces were said to have immediately cordoned off both scenes of the
attacks which prevented people from moving close to the places hit by
the explosions.
Reports
said one of the blasts was on New Road not far from St. Stephen’s
Anglican Church, a situation that made many believe that the church
might have been the target.
The
first blast occurred at about 9:12pm along Enugu/Igbo Road near
International Hotel, while the second blast followed three minutes
later.
Subsequent blasts followed shortly after the security personnel arrived at the scene.
Residents
of the areas, including fun-seekers, were seen fleeing in different
direction, and children were said to be among the victims.
The
spokesman of the Joint Task Force (JTF), Captain Ikedichi Iweh,
confirmed the incident but refused to give details. He, however, told
residents to remain calm.
Heavily
armed security operatives had cordoned off the area by the time of
filing this report. Though there were rumours of deaths, witnesses
claimed that so many people were wounded.
The
presiding pastor of Peniel Baptist Church in Sabon Gari, Rev. John
Adeyemo, who lives close the New Road blast scene, told LEADERSHIP on
telephone that the ensuing confusion and uncertainty, coupled with the
security force’s take-over of the sites, made it impossible for anybody
to pin-point the actual targets and the exact number of casualties.
6 died during attack –Police
However,
the Kano State Commissioner of Police Mr. Musa Daura, who confirmed the
incident, claimed that only six persons were killed during the blasts,
while six others were injured.
According
to him, the security forces immediately cordoned off both scenes which
prevented people to move close to the scenes of the explosions.
Eye witness account
An
eye witness and secretary of Ohaneze Ndigbo in Kano, Mr Tobias, said he
counted no fewer than 23 dead bodies, including a beer parlour owner
who is of Calabar origin. He added that a bomb had previously gone off
at the same place during the heat of the insurgency.
Our
reporter who was at the scene overheard an injured middle-aged man
shouting, “Somebody help me!” but he was not getting immediate help
because of the confusion.
LEADERSHIP saw the police carrying away the dead body of a little girl who could not be more than 10 years.
At
the state-owned Murtala Mohammed Specialists Hospital, Kano, where the
dead were deposited at the mortuary and the wounded were receiving
treatment at the emergency unit, our reporter heard a boy crying out in
anguish, saying: “Look at my brother David dying.”
The seven-year-old David was lying in a pool of his blood.
A
mortuary attendant at the hospital said at least 26 bodies had been
brought in from the scene. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he
was not authorised to speak to reporters.
“About
16 bodies were brought in by the police and 10 more were brought by the
some residents and police in a white Hilux bus after about 3 hours,” he
told our reporter.
Source: LEADERSHIP
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