As critiscisms continued to greet Wednesday’s twin bombings in Kaduna metropolis, an Improvised Explosive Device went off at the New Road Motor Park in Kano on Thursday.
But unlike the Kaduna blasts, which death toll has risen from 70 to 75, five persons died and eight were injured in the latest Kano incident. Some vehicles in the park were also damaged.
The Kano explosion led to a stampede as people struggled to leave the scene where 70 lives were lost in a similar blast last year.
The PUNCH gathered the IED was conveyed in a refrigerator which was smuggled into the park by a cart pusher.
Eyewitness accounts indicated that the cart pusher was able to beat security at the motor gate because he packaged the refrigerator like a passenger luggage.
Kano State Commissioner of Police, Adelenre Shinaba, confirmed to journalists at the scene that five persons, including a woman, lost their lives to the blast.
Adding that ‘‘eight others who were injured were taken to hospital for treatment,” he explained that the expolosive “went off at the point of loading the refrigerator to in a stationary vehicle.”
In Kaduna, the state Commissioner for Information and Chieftaincy Affairs, Ben Bako, told journalists that five injured victims of the Kaduna explosions died on Wednesday night in hospitals where they were admitted.
“We have 37 victims currently receiving treatment in both the 44 Army Reference Hospital and the Yusuf Dantsoho General Hospital, Tudun-wada, also in Kaduna. Thirty five victims are at the 44 Army Reference Hospital while two are at the Yusuf Dantsoho Hospital,” Bako said.
A former Head of State, Maj. Gen. Muhammadu Buhari, and an Islamic cleric, Sheikh Dahiru Bauchi, were the targets of the attacks carried out by lone bombers.
The incidents forced Governor Mukhtar Yero to impose a 24-hour curfew which was lifted on Thursday.
US, Canada condemn Kaduna bombings
US and Canada, in two separate statements on Thursday, called on the Federal Government to investigate the explosions.
They also extended their sympathies to the injured and the families of the dead.
The US statement was signed by the Deputy Spokesperson, Department of State, Marie Harf, while that of Canada was by the Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Human Rights, Deepak Obhrai.
The US statement read, “We are also concerned by reports that these blasts may have also targeted a former Head of State, Maj. Gen. Muhammadu Buhari.
“We extend our sympathies to the loved ones of the dead victims . We call on Nigerian authorities to fully investigate these attacks, and we urge all Nigerians to avoid reprisals and continue to practise the interfaith cooperation that violent extremists seek to undermine.”
The Canadian government described the blasts as cowardly and urged that the perpetrators be brought to justice.
It said, “Canada condemns in the strongest terms the two terrorist attacks in Nigeria’s Kaduna region, which killed innocent victims.
“These cowardly acts took place on one of the most important nights of Ramadan, and reports are that one of the bombs targeted a former Nigerian leader, Maj.Gen. Buhari.
“They also follow on the heels of Boko Haram’s brutal destruction of Damboa and recent attacks on Chibok, the hometown of the kidnapped schoolgirls.
“On behalf of all Canadians, I call for a swift justice for the perpetrators of this violence and offer our sincere condolences to the families and friends of the victims.”
Nigeria sliding into darkness –Northern govs
In Minna, Niger State, the Northern States Governors’ Forum lamented that Nigeria was gradually sliding into a dark period of uncertainty, fear and mistrust.
The forum, in a statement by its Chairman, Babangida Aliyu, said that those who sponsored the series of blasts in the country should be dealt with to serve as a deterrent to others.
It described the attacks as unfortunate, ungodly and a dastardly show of shame and advised that “the issue of security must therefore not be politicised.”
The group said, “It is indeed very unfortunate the twin blasts targeted at Gen. Buhari and Shiek Bauchi in Kaduna which led to the death of many innocent Nigerians. We must therefore realise that activities of terrorists have no limit and focus.
“Nigerians must therefore understand that there is no single person spared by the deadly terror organisation causing serious security challenge in the country.”
“We must therefore, as a people, come together and fight terrorism. We must not see it as the problem of a section of the country alone. The issue of security must be given the attention it deserves as no one is spared in the onslaught by insurgents.”
While condoling with the families of the deceased, the NSGF prayed that Allah grants them Aljantu Firdaus.
It also thanked Allah for sparing the life of Buhari and Bauchi, adding that they should see their escape as an opportunity to serve God and humanity better.
The forum also security operatives to investigate the incident and expose those behind the cowardly act.
We’ll hold FG responsible if anything happens to Buhari –APC govs
Fifteen opposition party governors under the aegis of the Progressives Governors’ Forum have said they would hold the Federal Government responsible should anything happen to Buhari.
The governors condemned Wednesday’s twin explosions in Kaduna, the loss of innocent lives, and what they described as a clear assassination attempt on Buhari.
The forum said this in a statement issued by its Chairman, Rochas Okorocha, and all its members in Abuja.
According to the PGF, the attack on the former head of state was coming just two days after he urged President Goodluck Jonathan to stop waging war on Nigerians and to devote more time and energy to the war against terrorism.
The attack on Buhari, according to them, confirms their belief that the APC leaders are no longer safe.
The statement partly read, “For the avoidance of doubt, we shall hold the Federal Government responsible for any further attempts on the life of Gen. Buhari and other APC leaders.
“The PGF also lends its voice to Buhari’s statement to President Jonathan that it is unwise and against the spirit of social democracy that so many innocent lives should be lost simply in the quest to demobilise the APC and retain power at all cost.”
They called on the Federal Government to take urgent steps to investigate the Kaduna attacks and make the findings public.
The governors also urged the President to manage his obsession with power well by working for the good of all Nigerians.
The PGF described as a great shame that Nigeria, under Jonathan, had become the most dangerous place in the world in terms of deadly terrorist attacks.
The governors said they were also worried by the statement credited to the Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Kenneth Minimah, that soldiers were deserting the Army for fear of Boko Haram.
They said, “Our question is what happened to the vast sums of money devoted to security and defence in the last four years of the Jonathan presidency and is the desertion of soldiers linked to the theft of monies meant for military equipment?”
FG’s theory on B’Haram up in flames, says APC
The APC on Thursday also said the attack on Buhari had changed the theory about Boko Haram and knocked the bottom off the sinister, irresponsible and partisan colouration given to insurgency by the Federal Government.
It said while no one had claimed responsibility for the Kaduna attacks, the mere fact that they occurred at all amounted to a lose-lose situation for the Jonathan administration.
The party’s reaction was contained in a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed.
It said, “Whether it is Boko Haram or not, one thing remains: This government has failed woefully in its core constitutional duty of protecting the security and welfare of the citizenry. And we mean all the citizens, not just the leaders.
‘‘And contrary to the simplistic and clearly selfish portrayal of the Boko Haram insurgency as a sinister plot to bring down the government of Jonathan, it should now be clear to the government that has engaged in ceaseless finger-pointing instead of tackling the insurgency headlong that Boko Haram is an enemy of Nigeria and of all of humanity.
‘‘It is a real problem that is capable of consuming this country if immediate and urgent steps are not taken now by the government to move away from its politicisation of the crisis, its decision to use it as a trump card for President Jonathan’s re-election and exploit it as a ticket to international relevance for the President. If anything untoward had happened to Gen. Buhari on Wednesday, the consequences are only better imagined than witnessed.
‘‘If indeed the APC is behind Boko Haram and Gen. Buhari is a sympathiser of the evil group, as the Federal Government wants the world to believe, could it be that the insurgents do not know their leaders or sympathisers, assuming they are behind the attacks? If they are not responsible for the attacks, doesn’t that support the theory in some circles that Boko Haram has become a franchise, hence there is the Boko Haram of Abubakar Shekau and the political Boko Haram?
‘‘Whatever happens now, the satanic and repulsive theory of the PDP-led Federal Government that the opposition APC is using Boko Haram to truncate the administration of Jonathan is up in flames.”
It said that Jonathan must immediately stop the wasteful contract he signed with the US-based firm Levick to help demonise it (APC) as the sponsor of Boko Haram, and to demonise any Nigerian who is perceived to be an enemy of the government.
The APC however sent its condolences to the families of the victims of the blasts and prayed that God would give them the much-needed strength to bear the loss of their loved ones.
Also on Thursday, the Peoples Democratic Party described the blasts as dastardly and unfortunate.
It sympathised with Buhari, saying it was now apparent that terrorists were capable of attacking anybody in the country.
The PDP National Publicity Secretary, Olisa Metuh, in a statement said the ruling party, while mourning the dead, “joins all well-meaning Nigerians in thanking God for saving the lives of Gen. Buhari (retd.) and Sheikh Dahiru Bauchi whose convoys were affected in the incident.”
“We sincerely sympathise with Gen. Buhari. Our hearts go out to him and all those affected in these wicked attacks”, Metuh added.
Stating that the PDP was shocked by the development, Metuh reiterated PDP’s call on all Nigerians to unite against acts of terrorism irrespective of ethnic, political and religious affiliations.
“It has become clear that anybody could be a target,” he said and advised opposition leaders to be careful with their utterances regarding the explosions.
The party also charged security agencies to ensure a thorough investigation of the attacks and to intensify their efforts in the fight against insurgency in Nigeria.
Mark, Ekweremadu react
The Senate President, David Mark, and his deputy, Ike Ekweremadu, lamented in Abuja that the unabating destruction of lives and property was compounding Nigeria’s woes.
They appealed to terrorists to hearken to the voices of reason and embrace dialogue which the present administration consistently offer.
Mark’s reaction was contained in a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Paul Mumeh, while that of Ekweremadu was in another statement his Special Adviser on Media, Mr. Uche Anichukwu.
Mark said, “This recourse to bestiality without human feeling any more is what cannot be contemplated or tolerated in a decent society.
“There are a lot of channels, including the law courts or the National Assembly, for any aggrieved person or group of persons to seek redress.”
Ekweremadu said, “This is another desperation to aggravate and exploit the nation’s fault lines. They have attacked churches to set Christians at war with their Muslim brethren, but without success.
“They unleashed terror on the mosques to set the country aflame, but that too did not work. Thus the unsuccessful attacks on major opposition and religious leaders were yet another heinous plot.”
Kaduna gov visits Buhari
Gov. Yero on Thursdday visited Buhari, the injured victims and the scenes of the explosions.
Buhari told the governor that the Kawo attack was a targeted assassination at him.
He, however, commended the government, security operatives and rescue team for their prompt response.
The former head of state urged government to expedite action towards addressing the country’s security challenge.
Yero had earlier said the visit was on behalf of the state government and the entire people of the state.
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