Many feared dead as 20 bomb explosions rock Kano •Police confirm 7 dead
A series of coordinated bomb explosions tore through Kano, targeting police formations in the metropolis.
In an apparent suicide attack, one of the blasts killed three officers at the Zone I Police Headquarters at Sharada, according to agency reports monitored online in Lagos.
Kano erupted in chaos with at least five police stations thought to have been targeted starting from 5 pm
At the Zone I police headquarters, a deadly suicide bomber forcefully drove in a Golf car with a Lagos registration number crashing into other cars parked in the premises and exploding in the process killing three cops and the bomber.
One of the bombers was said to have been killed at the SSS headquarters, while the other was arrested.
Local television was reporting that scores were feared dead in the attacks.
However, the Nigeria Police Force Public Relations Officer, Olusola Amore, confirmed that seven people were killed.
Amore said eight police stations were attacked.
It was not immediately clear who was behind the violence, though previous such attacks in Nigeria’s north have been blamed on Islamist group Boko Haram.
Apart from the Zone I HQs, other police formations attacked were the Farm Centre Police Station, Naibawa Police Station and Jedijedi Police Station.
Others are SSS, Kano headquarters, Kano State Police Command, Bompai and Yaar Akwa Police Station, Ungwar Uku
The attacks were reported to have been carried out by teenagers between the age of 15 and 18.
They reportedly threw bombs into the Immigration Passport Office, which is close to the Farm Centre Police Station at about 5 pm.
It added that many others were feared dead.
Gunfire was heard intermittently between blasts.Local television was reporting that scores were feared dead in the attacks. Police were not responding to phone calls.
Officials of the National Emergency Agency confirmed several explosions, including one reported at the regional police office, but were unable to get immediate access due to blocked roads.
While earlier reports had suggested an immigration office had also been targeted, it later appeared that a nearby police station had been the object of the attack.
A resident in Marhaba district told of a fierce gun battle, adding, “Now my dress is drenched in blood because I had to help carry someone shot in the shootout.”
Another resident said a police station in the Unguwa Uku neighbourhood also appeared to have come under attack.
“Several explosions have occurred at the Yar Akwa police station,” he said. “Everybody is running for his life. It’s chaotic.”
Scores of bomb blasts in Nigeria’s north have been blamed on the Islamist group Boko Haram, which is roughly translated as Western education is an abomination in Hausa language.
Boko Haram, which was founded by the late Mohammed Yusuf in 2002, has been waging a terror war in Northern Nigeria since 2009, with its men killing 571 persons in 2011 alone.
More than 72 people have been killed in attacks by the Boko Haram in 2012, especially after the organisation issued a three-day ultimatum that Southern Christians should vacate the North.
President Goodluck Jonathan declared a state of emergency on Dec 31 in parts of four states hard hit by attacks blamed on the group.
Kano is not included in the state of emergency and has not been hit by any of the recent major attacks, most of them having occurred in the North-East.
Nigeria, Africa’s most populous nation and largest oil producer, is roughly divided between a mainly Muslim north and predominately Christian south.
The state of emergency has not stopped attacks; the areas targeted expanding outside the locations covered by the decree.
The inability of Nigerian authorities to tackle the problem was highlighted in recent days when Kabir Sokoto Umar, the alleged mastermind of a Christmas Day attack outside the St Theresa Catholic Church in Madalla that killed 44 people escaped from police custody in suspicious circumstances on Monday.
Attacks specifically targeting Christians have also given rise to fears of a wider religious conflict in the country, with Christian leaders warning they will defend themselves. Some have even evoked the possibility of civil war.
However, attacks blamed on Boko Haram have included a wide range of targets, including Muslims.
The group claimed responsibility for the August suicide bombing of UN headquarters in Abuja that killed 25 people, though it has yet to speak on Friday’s attacks.
In an apparent suicide attack, one of the blasts killed three officers at the Zone I Police Headquarters at Sharada, according to agency reports monitored online in Lagos.
Kano erupted in chaos with at least five police stations thought to have been targeted starting from 5 pm
At the Zone I police headquarters, a deadly suicide bomber forcefully drove in a Golf car with a Lagos registration number crashing into other cars parked in the premises and exploding in the process killing three cops and the bomber.
One of the bombers was said to have been killed at the SSS headquarters, while the other was arrested.
Local television was reporting that scores were feared dead in the attacks.
However, the Nigeria Police Force Public Relations Officer, Olusola Amore, confirmed that seven people were killed.
Amore said eight police stations were attacked.
It was not immediately clear who was behind the violence, though previous such attacks in Nigeria’s north have been blamed on Islamist group Boko Haram.
Apart from the Zone I HQs, other police formations attacked were the Farm Centre Police Station, Naibawa Police Station and Jedijedi Police Station.
Others are SSS, Kano headquarters, Kano State Police Command, Bompai and Yaar Akwa Police Station, Ungwar Uku
The attacks were reported to have been carried out by teenagers between the age of 15 and 18.
They reportedly threw bombs into the Immigration Passport Office, which is close to the Farm Centre Police Station at about 5 pm.
It added that many others were feared dead.
Gunfire was heard intermittently between blasts.Local television was reporting that scores were feared dead in the attacks. Police were not responding to phone calls.
Officials of the National Emergency Agency confirmed several explosions, including one reported at the regional police office, but were unable to get immediate access due to blocked roads.
While earlier reports had suggested an immigration office had also been targeted, it later appeared that a nearby police station had been the object of the attack.
A resident in Marhaba district told of a fierce gun battle, adding, “Now my dress is drenched in blood because I had to help carry someone shot in the shootout.”
Another resident said a police station in the Unguwa Uku neighbourhood also appeared to have come under attack.
“Several explosions have occurred at the Yar Akwa police station,” he said. “Everybody is running for his life. It’s chaotic.”
Scores of bomb blasts in Nigeria’s north have been blamed on the Islamist group Boko Haram, which is roughly translated as Western education is an abomination in Hausa language.
Boko Haram, which was founded by the late Mohammed Yusuf in 2002, has been waging a terror war in Northern Nigeria since 2009, with its men killing 571 persons in 2011 alone.
More than 72 people have been killed in attacks by the Boko Haram in 2012, especially after the organisation issued a three-day ultimatum that Southern Christians should vacate the North.
President Goodluck Jonathan declared a state of emergency on Dec 31 in parts of four states hard hit by attacks blamed on the group.
Kano is not included in the state of emergency and has not been hit by any of the recent major attacks, most of them having occurred in the North-East.
Nigeria, Africa’s most populous nation and largest oil producer, is roughly divided between a mainly Muslim north and predominately Christian south.
The state of emergency has not stopped attacks; the areas targeted expanding outside the locations covered by the decree.
The inability of Nigerian authorities to tackle the problem was highlighted in recent days when Kabir Sokoto Umar, the alleged mastermind of a Christmas Day attack outside the St Theresa Catholic Church in Madalla that killed 44 people escaped from police custody in suspicious circumstances on Monday.
Attacks specifically targeting Christians have also given rise to fears of a wider religious conflict in the country, with Christian leaders warning they will defend themselves. Some have even evoked the possibility of civil war.
However, attacks blamed on Boko Haram have included a wide range of targets, including Muslims.
The group claimed responsibility for the August suicide bombing of UN headquarters in Abuja that killed 25 people, though it has yet to speak on Friday’s attacks.
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