TERRORISTS on Tuesday revisited Kaduna
State with a female suicide bomber attacking the secretariat of the
Sabon Gari Local Government Area in Dogarawa, killing at least 40
persons, mostly female teachers.
The victims, most of who were said to
have been burnt beyond recognition, had been undergoing a staff audit
exercise at the secretariat when they met their death.
Others sustained varying degrees of injury in the attack. The attacked secretariat is few kilometres away from the Zaria City.
The bomber sneaked into the secretariat
and detonated an Improvised Explosive Device strapped to her body at
about 9.30am while staff verification was on.
Also
on Tuesday, 14 persons died in an ambush by gunmen at Sho village in
the Barkin Ladi Local Government Area of Plateau State.
The Plateau killing occurred at about 12
noon when the victims, who were part of a group that were being
escorted by policemen, were ambushed and killed by the gunmen.
Spokesman for the Special Task Force,
Capt. Ikedichi Iweha, who confirmed the incident and the death toll,
told our correspondent in Jos that the villagers had refused the
deployment of STF operatives to their communities and had insisted that
they preferred to be guarded by the police.
The victims of the Kaduna attack were
taken to the St. Luke Hospital, Wusasa, and the Ahmadu Bello University
Teaching Hospital, Shika.
Both hospitals are in Zaria
Eyewitness accounts said the female
suicide bomber had joined the queue of workers, pretending to be part of
those undergoing the verification exercise.
The verification of workers, it was
learnt, coincided with the inaugural address of the newly appointed
chairman of the Barkin Ladi Local Government Area’s interim management
committee.
Our correspondent also learnt that most
of the victims were female primary school teachers from more than three
local government areas, including Kubau, Lere and Sabon Gari.
Kaduna State Governor, Nasir el-Rufai;
and the State Commissioner of Police, Alhaji Umar Shehu rushed to the
scene of the incident.
The governor, who took to his twitter
handle to bemoan the incident, however first said only 20 persons died
but he later updated the figure, putting the number of deaths at 25 and
that 50 persons were injured.
The Chief Medical Director of the Ahmadu
Bello Teaching Hospital, Shika, Prof. Lawal Khalid, who declined giving
the casualty figure simply said “above a dozen people died.”
A female worker at the local government
secretariat, Aisha Mohammed, told one of our correspondents that they
were all packed in a hall capable of sitting 500 when “suddenly we heard
a deafening sound of the explosion.”
She narrated how three trucks loaded with body parts were conveyed by the police to the hospital.
She said, “We heard a loud sound and
everybody scampered for safety. There were lifeless and charred bodies
littered all over the place.
“I cannot say the exact casualty figure
at the moment but I can say about 40 because I witnessed three police
vans loaded with body parts being taken away.”
No more street begging
Meanwhile, el-Rufai, in a statement by
his Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Samuel Aruwan, has
condemned the attack, which described as an “act of infamy.”
He said, “The casualty count as at 12
noon is 25 fatalities, including a two-year old child. Thirty-two
injured persons are being treated at the Ahmadu Bello University
Teaching Hospital, Zaria, and other hospitals in the city.
“The blast went off as the residents
welcomed the new chairman of the interim management committee of the
local government to his office at the secretariat. Some local government
staff from Lere and Ikara were also undergoing biometric verification
at the venue.
“The Kaduna State Government has
expressed its sadness at this mindless attack on our citizens. It has
condoled with the victims and is coordinating the treatment of the
survivors.”
The governor has also announced the banning of street begging and hawking in the state with immediate effect.
According to the governor, the ban is to enhance security in the state.
He said, “All beggars and hawkers are to
stay off the streets until further notice. Any beggar or hawker found
on the streets will be arrested, until these measures are relaxed.
“In addition, government reiterates that
the ban on motorcycle taxis (achaba) remains in force, and the law will
be strictly enforced in this regard.
“The government hereby urges all
citizens to report all suspicious persons and movements to the security
agencies, and to afford these agencies their maximum cooperation.
“These measures take immediate effect.”
Jos blasts’ deaths now 50
In Plateau State, member representing
the Barkin Ladi constituency in the State House of Assembly, Mr. Peter
Gyendeng, confirmed the attack to newsmen and decried the alleged daily
killing of his constituents.
Meanwhile, the death toll in the twin blasts in Jos has risen to 51.
The North Central zonal coordinator of
the National Emergency Management Agency, Mr. Mohammed Abdulsalami, told
our correspondent that about seven more people had died at the Plateau
Specialist Hospital where they had been receiving treatment.
NEMA had on Monday said 44 persons lost
their lives and 47 others were critically injured in the blasts, which
rocked Jos city on Sunday night.
Speaking to our correspondent on
Tuesday, Abdulsalami said that one of the injured victims died on
Tuesday morning while six more corpses were recovered from the scene of
the explosion. He said the corpses had been identified by their
relatives and taken for burial.
Meanwhile, the Inspector-General of
Police, Solomon Arase, has mandated police commissioners in state
commands to strengthen security at all mosques, churches and other
worship centres across the country.
He also directed that adequate security should be provided at venues where Moslems break their Ramadan fast in the evenings.
A statement by the Deputy Force Public
Relations Officer, Abayomi Shogunle, on Tuesday in Abuja advised
worshippers to be vigilant and to promptly report to the police any
suspicious persons or substances.
In a similar development, the police
have banned street hawking and all forms of trading on Abuja roads and
highways, especially at road intersections, traffic light points and
traffic hold-ups.
In the same vein, unauthorised taxi parks and bus-stops formed around the Federal Secretariat, Abuja, are now prohibited.
“Only bus and taxis painted in
authorised commercial colours would be allowed to operate at designated
taxi parks and bus stops in and around the Central Area, Abuja.
Violators would be apprehended and prosecuted as police units have been
directed to enforce the relevant laws in this regard,” the statement
added.
Four killed at military checkpoint
Also on Tuesday, another female suicide
bomber detonated an IED at a military checkpoint in Borno village,
killing four other persons.
A member of the youth vigilante group,
Abba Maidugu, said that the lone female suicide bomber alighted at the
military checkpoint in a remote village of Sabon Gari in the Damboa
Local Government Area of Borno State and detonated an IED strapped to
her body, killing herself and four others.
Maidugu said, “At about 10.30am today
(Tuesday) a female bomber that wrapped up explosive devices on her body
exploded at a checkpoint killing four, including two members of the
civilian JTF, and injured many others.”
Sabon Gari is a community in the Damboa
southern part of Borno State. The community is about 120 kilometres away
from Maiduguri, the state capital.
Borno State is the operational base of
the violent Islamic sect, Boko Haram. Most of the sect’s enclaves are
located in the state.
13-year-old girl bombs Kano
In Kano, a 13-year-old female suicide
bomber detonated a bomb she hid in her body near the popular Aliyu Ibn
Abi-talib Mosque at the busy Dengi area of the ancient city on Monday
night.
Two persons died in the incident, while four others sustained grievous injuries.
The Kano State Police Command Public
Relations Officer, Musa Magaji Majiya, an assistant superintendent of
police, who confirmed the incident, said that the Commissioner of
Police, Ibrahim Idris, had visited the scene of the explosion to
ascertain the extent of damage.
According to him, as soon as the police
conclude preliminary investigations, the public will be briefed of its
findings. He however said no arrest had been made.
The police described the bomb attack as
unsuccessful, because the female bomber failed to hit the mosque, which
was said to be her target.
He however cautioned members of the public to be wary of strange faces within their immediate vicinity
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