Two Suicide Bombers Killed, Four Arrested in Kano

Kano city was saturday rocked by explosions, resulting in the death of two suicide bombers, who were blown up by their own explosives at the Eastern bye-pass in Hotoro quarters in Kano.  According to the state police command, the two suicide bombers were disguised as water vendors and were pushing a truck loaded with primed explosives.

This came on the heels of a siege by unidentified gunmen on the headquarters of Ganye Local Government in Adamawa State on Friday, killing more than 25 persons. An eyewitness account confirmed that 25 persons, including a commissioner in a former governor of the defunct Gongola State, late Abubakar Barde were killed in the attack.

The Kano suicide bombers, posturing as water vendors pushing a cart laden with jerry cans, were said to have been accosted by a security operative when they arrived at a checkpoint mounted by the Joint Task Force (JTF) and had refused to stop.

Their refusal to stop at the checkpoint had prompted the JTF operatives to open fire and, in the process, the explosives went off, killing the would-be suicide bombers.

Confirming the incident, the Kano State police commissioner, Musa Daura said that four persons, including Niger republic nationals and others from Damaturu and from Azare, were arrested in connection with the incident.

Daura also disclosed that, besides the causalities, no one was hurt as a result of the incident at Hotoro. He said the arrested suspects had confessed their involvement in the attack, adding that investigations had commenced. The suicide bombers, he added, also used remote-controlled explosives while they postured as water vendor with one of their collaborators trailing them on a motorcycle.

Only last week, about 22 people were killed and 65 injured after a multiple bomb attack on the Kano Motor Park at Sabon Gari. There were also  two other incidents, involving the killing of female police officer and the ambush of mobile policemen, which grievously injured nine police officers.

In the Adamawa incident, about 30 gunmen overran the divisional police station, the prison headquarters and a bank, all located some metres from each other. Hotels and relaxation centres were also among the places attacked, recording heavy casualties.

Eyewitness account said that the attackers first struck at divisional police station, setting it ablaze before proceeding to the prisons where the inmates were released after setting the building on fire.

The attack, according to the eyewitness which took the residents by surprise, began moments after the last Muslim prayers, Isha’i.  The attackers were shouting “Allah is great, Allah is great, as they marched round the town unchallenged. At the bank, the attackers were reported to have used dynamites to pull down parts of the building before gaining entrance into the banking hall and the strong room.

There was no confirmation yet as to the amount of money stolen from the bank. But an eyewitness account claimed the amount runs into millions as wraps of various denominations littered the entire premises of the bank.

Virtually all the hotels and other relaxation joints in the town was set ablaze and ransacked, as fun-seekers ran helter-skelter for their dear lives. The eyewitness also disclosed  that most of the casualties were recorded in the relaxation centres when the attackers opened fire sporadically.

Confirming the incident, the Adamawa State Police command’s public relations officer, PPRO Mohammed Ibrahim (SP) said already detachment of military and police have been dispatched to the area. Also, the Comptroller of Prisons in charge of Adamawa State, Mr. Andrew Barka equally confirmed the ransacking of Ganye Prisons, but failed to give further details. Ganye Local Government Council, which shares common border with the Republic of Cameroon, has been vulnerable to attacks by gunmen.

-culled from THISDAY