Hide bombs inside wheelbarrows laden with bananas, oranges
…My escape was divine, says motorist who went for car keys at drinking bar
More
details emerged yesterday on Monday’s twin explosions by Boko Haram in
Kano metropolis even as survivors recounted how they cheated death. The
Joint Security Task Force (JTF) and the police said 12 people died while
12 others were injured. Ohanaeze Ndigbo disagreed with the figures,
saying 45 people lost their lives.
It was confirmed yesterday
that the lone bomber hid the Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) in a
wheelbarrow, disguising as a fruit seller before they were detonated at
New and Enugu/Igbo Road, all in Sabon-Gari, populated by non-indigenes,
mostly the Igbos. One explosion went off at 41 New Road, the Christ
Salvation Pentecostal Church at the peak of evening worship.
An
eyewitness, Mazi Columba Ndubuisi, told Daily Sun that the Boko Haram
bomber arrived in Enugu Road, with a wheelbarrow, adding that the
terrorist pretended to be selling watermelon, oranges and bananas.
According to him, the attacker hid the IEDs inside the wheelbarrow under
the bananas and oranges, adding that after roaming innocently for a
while, he parked the wheelbarrow near the shop of one Mama Ejima by the
side of a parked Mercedes Benz car. Ndubuisi said he trades on fire
-fighting equipment very close to the scene of the blasts, when the boy
parked his wheelbarrow casually, some people were actually calling him
to come and sell to them, but they surprisingly noticed that the boy,
rather than selling, made his way to the main road, leaving his wares.
He
said barely a few minutes after, the bomb exploded killing the woman
(Mama Ejima) and several other people. Another witness, who is simply
called Mr. Eddy, said typical of the fellowship, worshippers separated
themselves from their children, adding that the kids were roaming about
the scene when the first device exploded near their play-point. The
witness, who was watching football in a nearby bar when the first blast
occurred, recalled that following the shocking explosion, the whole
scenario was thrown into confusion, with several people sustaining
injuries, while many more died of the first blast.
He said that just
minutes after the first blast, when they were trying to escape, the
second exploded, trapping some people who had dared to run in the
direction of the first blast.
Mr. Eddy, who resides in the same
building where the church is located, said several people died on
account of the blasts, including three persons who sat close to him at
their drinking table.
“There was smoke everywhere. People were
running everywhere, people were lying on the ground, many motorists
jumped inside their cars and sped off. They came here with four pick-up
vans to carry the bodies. I did not count them, but I know that they
were many,” he added. Meanwhile, several families were yet to discover
the whereabouts of their relatives. Daily Sun learnt that at least,
eight wounded persons were hospitalized.
Speaking from his
hospital bed at the Emergency Unit of the Armed Forces Hospital in the
state capital, Mr Chika Ekenne said the blasts took them by surprise,
adding that but for the mercy of God, he would have died from the
explosion. Ekenne, who had deep wounds on his left shoulder in addition
to several sharp cuts, said that he was hit by the second explosion that
occurred in New Road area of Sabon -Garri Area.
According to the
victim, who was wreathing in pains at press time, he was a resident of
Abuja, who had come to the state to finish a business, adding that he
went to the particular scene in the company of a friend to give some
money to his daughter, who was to transfer the same to another of his
children, who is in school.
Mr. Ekenne, who hails from Etiti in
Mbaino in Imo State told Daily Sun that when the first bomb exploded by
the side of the church, a number of people at the drinking bar escaped,
adding that unfortunately, he forgot his keys when he fled in fright.
He
recalled that in the midst of the thick billowing smoke, thinking that
it was a single blast, he ran back, only to be hit by the second
explosion which stuck him and threw particles at him.
While
pleading that they should not tell his wife about his current state and
tragedy, he noted that his wife may not be able to stand the shock.
Meanwhile,
a statement signed by JTF spokesman, Capt. Ikedeche Iweha, said Boko
Haram detonated the bombs which killed 12 people and injured 12 others,
while 19 vehicles were destroyed.
According to the JTF, the
incident could have been avoided if the residents had maintained
vigilance by reporting to the authorities, strange objects. Capt. Iweha
recalled that the task force had urged people to keep an eye on their
environments as there was a tip-off that the terror group had planned to
attack Kano.
Also, the state police command, in a statement by Mr. Magaji Magiya, confirmed the JTF’s casualty figures.
Reacting
to the attack, president of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Kano State Chapter, Chief
Tobias Michael Idika, claimed that 45 people were killed even as he
called on President Goodluck Jonathan to take urgent steps to strengthen
security of lives and property of residents in the northern parts of
the country.
In a statement, the apex Igbo group said: “Ohanaeze
account can confirm 39 deaths in New Road and six in Enugu/Igbo Road,
and an unspecified number of people who got injured. The terrorists
invaded Sabon-Gari, an enclave carved out for non-natives and planted
Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) which exploded almost simultaneously
at Enugu/Igbo Road, near International Hotel and on New Road, directly
opposite the popular Ado Bayero Square precisely at Nos 38, 39, 40 and
41.
“At 41 New Road, the Christ Salvation Pentecostal Church was also
bombed at the peak of evening worship.” The Christian Association of
Nigeria (CAN), through its state chairman, Bishop Ramos Bello, condemned
the attack. He prayed God to receive the departed souls and comfort the
wounded. He appealed for deployment of more troops in the state.
Meanwhile,
the state government has condemned the attack. Governor Rabiu Musa
Kwankwaso who visited the scenes, described the attack as devastating.
He promised to pay for the treatment of the injured victims.