Twenty-four hours after terrorists attacked Yola, the Adamawa State capital killing 32 people, female suicide bombers yesterday hit the GSM Market located at Farm Centre in Kano metropolis.
Fifteen people, including two female bombers, died while 53 others sustained injuries in the multiple explosions. New Telegraph learnt that 10 people died on the spot while 58 people were taken to the hospital where five additional people died.
Already, the scene has been cordoned off by combined security personnel. An eyewitness said the female terrorists blew themselves off at different spots within the market.
The police confirmed the death of five persons, including two female suicide bombers. The Kano State Commissioner of Police, Mr. Muhammad Katsina, said that eight other persons sustained injuries during the incident, which happened about 4.30p.m.
According to him, the incident happened when a Sharon space wagon vehicle arrived at the market with six passengers and dropped two females at the market. He said soon after the suspects alighted from the vehicle, the suspects entered the GSM market through different gates and detonated the bombs.
The commissioner said five persons, including the bombers, lost their lives, while eight others were injured. He said that the injured ones had since been taken to hospital for treatment. He called on residents to be extra careful and report any suspected character or movement to security agents for prompt response.
An eyewitness told our correspondent that when one of the girls came, she was chased away because the traders felt that the suicide bomber was a minor who had no business in the market. As she was being chased away, the first blast went off.
She also detonated the Improvised Explosive Device (IED) strapped on her body, hitting some others. In Yola, relatives of victims of Tuesday’s blast have stormed the Specialists Hospital, Yola, to claim the remains of their loved ones. Many of the relatives said they thronged the mortuary after visiting the hospital emergency ward and could not locate their relatives.
“Since I did not see my brother who was selling sugarcane at the scene of the incident, I have no option but to come to the mortuary,” said one of them, who simply gave his name as Adamu.
Another one, Habila Ibrahim, also said he checked the wards in the specialist hospital and the Federal Medical Centre, Yola, before visiting the mortuary to ascertain if his brother was among the dead. The Chief Medical Director of the hospital, Dr. Bala Sa’id, said the hospital had received 29 dead bodies from the scene of the incident.
“As at yesterday night, we had 29 corpses in the mortuary. We also have 30 people on admission with various degrees of injury; I believe by now some of those injured are stable. We are now about to take our rounds and make some discharges,” Sa’id said. He said among the dead were six women and eight children.
Public Relations Officer of Yola Federal Medical Centre, Malam Adamu Dodo, said 41 casualties were taken to the hospital, including four dead. “One of the dead is a woman,” Dodo said. The blast occurred at 8p.m. at a night market in front of the Tipper Garage, Yola. The incident happened about a month after the blast at the Friday Mosque in Jambutu Area, also in Yola.
Meanwhile, President Muhammadu Buhari has called for increased vigilance among the civilian population to help ward off suicide terror attacks on soft targets around the country.
The president condemned in strongest terms the barbaric suicide terrorist attacks, which took place in Yola and Kano, causing numerous deaths and injuries among civilians. The president, according to his media aide, Garba Shehu, extends his heartfelt condolences to the families of the victims, as well as to the government and people of Adamawa and Kano states respectively.
Buhari stated that his administration is very much determined to wipe out Boko Haram in Nigeria and bring all perpetrators of the heinous crimes against humanity to justice.
“The president urged all Nigerians not to despair in the face of cowardly terrorist attacks, but to have confidence in the ability of Nigeria’s reinvigorated, well-equipped and wellmotivated Armed Forces and security agencies to overcome Boko Haram very soon,” Shehu said.
Following the Tuesday’s bomb blast in Yola, Governor Mohammadu Jibrilla has announced an indefinite ban on night markets in the state capital. He said the ban was part of decisions taken at an emergency security meeting at Government House, Yola. He said all business premises that attracted crowds, particularly night markets, were expected to close by 6p.m.
In another development, the Nigerian Army yesterday said troops of 101 Task Force Battalion as well as detectives from the Borno State Command of the Nigeria Police, have arrested two wanted Boko Haram commanders at separate locations.
The disclosure was contained in a statement signed by the Acting Director, Army Public Relations (DAPR), Col. Sani Usman. This brings to five the number of wanted kingpins so far arrested, out of the 100 declared wanted by the Army.
dailyindependentnig.com
