Tag: bomber
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Kaduna death toll hits 110 as bomber strikes in Kano
Five die as bomb hidden in fridge goes off at park
A bomb went off in Kano yesterday, 24 hours after the Kaduna twin explosions in which former Head of State Gen. Muhammadu Buhari and a cleric, Sheikh Dahiru Bauchi were targets.
Five persons died in the Kano explosion, which took place at a popular motor park in Sabon Gari. Twelve persons were injured. The police said only one person died.
The death toll in the Kaduna explosions, which have been condemned by the United Nations (UN), former military President Gen. Ibrahim Babangida, the All Progressives Congress (APC) and others, has risen to 110.
The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) called for a comprehensive investigation into the explosions, which it described as “abhorrent and criminal”.
The toll has risen to 110, with more injured victims being rushed to hospital for treatment, a humanitarian aid official said yesterday.
Abubakar Zakari Adamu, a spokesperson for the State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA), told reporters that 13 of the severely injured victims died in the hospitals.
A Xinhua reporter learnt that hundreds of people travelling through the northcentral state have been stranded following the 24-hour curfew imposed on Kaduna city.
Vehicles from neighbouring Kano, Katsina, Zamfara, Sokoto, Kebbi and Jigawa states were blocked from entering the city at the toll gate plaza on Zaria road, forcing hundreds of people to loiter around the area in heavy rain.
Vehicles from the South were also stranded at the toll gate on Abuja-Kaduna Road.
Except for children and a few vehicles and security personnel, roads in the city were completely empty until later in the afternoon after the curfew was lifted.
Kaduna State Commissioner for Information Mr. Ben Bako, said the curfew was lifted after it was reviewed at a State Security Council meeting.
Bako said: “Following the bomb blast that killed scores of persons on Wednesday leading to the imposition of the 24 hours curfew, an emergency Security Council meeting was summoned today (yesterday) and the situation was reviewed, subsequently, the curfew has been lifted.
“Citizens are advised to go about their legitimate businesses, remain calm, vigilant and report any suspicious movement of persons or vehicles to relevant security agents.”
When reporters sought clarification on the curfew, death toll and other matters, Bako said: “No questions; no questions.’’
Contrary to eye witness account that no fewer than 82 people died in the explosion, he said: “39 persons were killed in the twin bomb blast all together; 34 persons died instantly while two died in the evening of the blast and another three died this morning (yesterday morning) with 37 persons injured and receiving treatment at various hospitals.”
It was gathered that 37 injured victims were receiving treatment at 44 Nigerian Army Reference Hospital.
Governor Mukhtar Ramalan Yero and security chiefs visited the scenes of the explosions and the hospitals where the survivors were receiving treatment.
Yero cautioned residents to avoid crowded areas, saying terrorists now target such places.
He said the state government would foot the bills of the injured.
Speaking to reporters at the 44 Army Reference Hospital, Yero said: “First of all, I will like to thank God Almighty for what he has done for us in Kaduna. In the last two years, we have not had this kind of problem, but everything has its own time. This thing happened yesterday; it is a very sad incident. And whoever is behind this knows that he has no fear of God. This is very unfortunate; it is not supposed to be. So, we are totally condemning this act and we are also calling on people to condemn it and make sure people watch out for what is around them.
“Kaduna people have been very vigilant, but, unfortunately, because of the crowded town we had yesterday, this thing happened. But we know that, by the grace of God, this thing will never happen again. We will continue to do our best and we will continue to pray to God Almighty Allah for what he has done for us.
“We also visited the scenes of the blast. The one that is very major is that of Kawo, because in that one, they used a vehicle. The other is at Alkali Road; it was a suicide bomber and it was an individual.
“We also visited General Buhari, I spoke with him yesterday. We at the Security Council meeting decided in the middle of the meeting to go and see him. So, we went to greet him at home. I also called Sheikh Dahiru Bauchi and, as at that time, he was on his way to Saudi Arabia.
“We will continue to do our best to ensure the safety of everyone, but we need the support of the general public. It is no longer business-as-usual.
“If you look at this issue critically, you will discover that people just want to create problem and ensure there is crisis in Kaduna State and Nigeria generally. So, people must rise up and understand that it is no longer the issue of religion. It is no longer issue of politics. This is an issue of lives and property of people.
The NLC has called for a probe of the attempt on the lives of Gen. Buhari and Sheikh Bauchi.
Acting General Secretary Chris Uyot said in an email that a comprehensive investigation into the attacks was necessary to unravel those behind with a view to preventing similar attacks.
Uyot described the attacks, which resulted in the death of 82 Nigerians, as “criminal and abhorrent”.
The statement said: “Boko Haram, it seems, has become a convenient brand under which all manner of atrocities are committed.”
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Court holds that alleged bomber of media houses has case to answer
Justice Adeniyi Ademola of the Federal High Court, Abuja yesterday held that Mustapha Umar, being tried for allegedly attempting to bomb a building occupied in Kaduna by three media houses has a case to answer.
The judge, in a ruling, dismissed the no-case submission made by the accused person after the prosecution closed its case.
Umar, had in his no-case submission, argued that the prosecution failed to make out a prima facie case against him.
He also argued that all evidence led by the prosecution did not link him to the charges preferred against him
His lawyer, Nureini Sulaiman prayed the court to set his client free.
The judge upheld the prosecution’s counter argument that it has led sufficient evidence establishing a prima facie case against the accused person.
The judge called on him to open his defence.
Umar, a suspected boko haram member, is charged with terrorism related offences over the explosion which partly damaged the building -SOJ Plaza .
The building on Kontagora Road, Kaduna, is occupied by Thisday, the Sun and the Moment newspapers.
Following the judge’s ruling, Umar testified yesterday as the only defence witness. He denied the allegations against him.
He denied the confessional statement he made in a video evidence tendered by the prosecution.
Umar said the video, where he admitted the charge, was doctored by his interrogators, who he accused of excluding where he was tortured and compelled to confessing to the crime.
Justice Ademola has adjourned to September 30 for parties to adopt their final written submissions.
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How alleged bomber of ThisDay, Sun, Moment was captured, by witnesses
The Federal Government yesterday called four witnesses as it opened trial in the case involving Mustapha Umar, accused of being the mastermind of the April 26, last year’s bombing of a building occupied by three media houses – ThisDay, the Sun and the Moment – in Kaduna.
The witnesses gave details of how Umar drove a bomb-laden Honda car unto the wall of the building known as SOJ Plaza; how he was captured while trying to escape after allegedly killing three people and how the police saved him from being lynched by a mob.
Before the trial began yesterday, Justice Adeniyi Ademola granted an aplication by the prosecution barring people, other than parties in the case, their lawyers, journalists and law students on court attachment, from witnessing proceedings..
The judge also ordered that witnesses in the case should be protected with their identity, names and other particulars kept secret. In view of the orders, the four witnesses hid their faces by wearing mask.
The first witness, who was identified as Ismael told the court how the accused drove a car ladden with explosives into the building.
He said although the car didn’t explode, the accused allegedly killed three people when, in a bid to escape, he threw one of the explosives into the crowd.
Ismael said: “I was passing along Kontagora Road, Kaduna when I saw people gathered. I moved closer to inquire what was going on. I saw a Honda car very close to the wall of the building. I saw about two people trying to rescue the accused from inside the vehicle.
“He was alone, sitting on the driver’s seat. Thinking he was invoved in an accident, I joined in an attempt to rescue him. The moment we brought him out, he started shouting: ‘I have brought bomb to this premises. It can explode any moment from now.’
“By then, the size of the crowd had increased. They started beating him, asking him to go and remove the bomb. And he told them if they remove it, it will explode,” the witness said.
He told the court how he and others were later able to invite, first some policemen from the Sabongari police station, before other security personnel arrived at the scene.
The witness, who was led in evidence by lead prosecution lawyer, Simon Labaran, added that some moments later, the accused, who was held by some members of the crowd, went close to his car and brought out what looked like a fire extinguisher.
“Because the crowd was outside the premises, he threw the fire extinguisher and we heard a loud sound. Three people died on the spot, one of them was on Okada (motorcycle). “Unfortunately for him, as he was trying to scale the fence, some youths, who had gathered, apprehended him. By this time, he has sustained injuries and was bleeding. We later handed him to the police.”
He said moments after the accused was taken away, some youths set the vehicle on fire, during which the explosives exploded. “About 4pm, when the police came to remove the burnt vehicle, I saw about 12 camp cylinders inside the vehicle. There were three in the front, three in the middle and six in the booth. They were neatly wired to the steering of the vehicle,” the witness said.
On cross-examination by defence lawyer, Nureni Sulaiman, the witness maintained that the accused caused the death of three persons. The second prosecution witness, who said he was the Divisional Crime Officer (DCO) at the Sabongari Police Station when the incident occured, corroborated the first witness’ statement that the accused killed three people by allegedly throwing an object like a fire extinguisher into the crowd.
He said their mission at the scene of the incident was to ensure security and rescue the accused person.
He admitted also seeing the camp cylindres inside the accsued perspns’s vehicle.
The third witness, who said he was qually serving at the Sabongari station as at the time of the incident, told the court how he was directed by his Divisional Police Officer (DPO), who he met at the incident’s scene, to take the accsued person to the Police Medical Centre for treatment.
He said although he had taken the accused person to his station, his DPO called to direct that Umar be taken to the hospital.
The fourth witness, an Assistant Police Commissioner and medical practitioner, told the court how he helped stabilised the accsued person, who was brought to the police medical facility “conscious, but confused.”
Explaining the condition in which he met the accuxed person, the medical expert said “I went to the Accident and Emmergency Room, where I saw the accused person. He was soaked in is own blood After examining him, I niticed he had injuries on his hand and head. He was later stabilised. Initially when he was brought in, he could not talk,” the witness said.
The trial resumes today at 11 am.
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Suicide bomber kills eight in Kaduna church
ALL was normal and quiet. It was time for the sacrament – the blessing of the bread and wine in commemoration of the Last Supper – by the parish priest. Time was about 8.30am.
A young man driving a Honda CRV, a rosary dangling on his neck, approached the church’s gate. He was turned back. Pretending to be leaving, he reversed the vehicle. Then, he stepped heavily on the throttle to send the vehicle into full speed and rammed it into the children’s section at St. Rita’s Catholic Church, Ugwan Yero in Mallai, Kaduna.
A deafening noise, crashing bricks and a dusty skyline. Then some calm and time to attend to the dead – 8 – and the injured – scores.
Among the injured was the Parish Priest, Rev. Fr. Bonni.
An eyewitness, Ishaku James, said: “There are so many injured people who have been taken to hospitals, like Garkuwa Hospital, Saint Gerald Catholic Hospital, Army 44 Reference Hospital and Barau Dikko Specialist Hospital.
“We are still looking for the Reverend father; he sustained serious injuries on the face but we don’t know which hospital he has been taken to. We cannot say for now whether he survived the attack or not. We don’t know where he is now, but, initially, we took him to Garkuwa General Hospital.
“The priest was saying ‘it is well, it is well, it is well’ while his face was covered with blood. The suicide bomber used Honda CRV Jeep. The bomb blast happened at about 8.30 am when the Parish Priest was blessing the sacrament.
“Even if there were security men, they couldn’t have stopped the bomber because he came driving with force and crashed through the fence of the church, and not through the gate of the church. The car used by the bomber got burnt, and the body of the bomber was dangling against the wall of the church.
Miss Jacinta Oko, who was also affected, said: “We just heard the loud sound of the bomb blast when they were preparing to take Holy Communion. But before I knew what was happening, I found myself on the ground.
“I can say that so many people died because it affected the side where the choir members were sitting. The service was about faith and healing. The Priest preached about God’s possibility. He said with faith, everything is possible.
“He gave us the story of King Solomon; how God healed him. He said whatever we do, we should hold onto our faith, and that everything will be alright. So the mass was okay. He was about giving communion when the blast happened.”
Thirty-year-old Veronica Johnson told our correspondent that they were in the middle of the service when suddenly she heard a loud explosion.
Veronica, who was with her two children at the St. Gerard Catholic Hospital, said: “We were in the church, and it was during the consecration when everybody was kneeling down and praying, and all of a sudden, we heard the deafening sound of the bomb blast. When I looked back, I saw a jeep that forced itself through the wall of the church fence from behind into the church premises.
“The blast occurred near where the choristers were sitting. So many people died, and so many people were injured. I saw some people lying down flat within the church premises. All of my four children were in the church when the thing happened, but my husband was not in the church. They all sustained injuries. One is just four months old; I am 30 years old from Benue State.”
St. Gerald’s Hospital spokesman Sunday John Ali said “We are managing 14 injured persons who were brought here from the church incident. The parishioners said they took the parish priest to a hospital, but not St. Gerald. Right now, we do not know where he is.”
There were reports that three bodies and 35 injured persons were taken to the 44 Army Reference Hospital. Four bodies and over 88 injured persons to Barau Dikko Specialist Hospital; 14 injured persons were taken to Saint Gerard Catholic Hospital.
The report also said one body and 14 injured persons were taken to Garkuwa Hospital, three injured persons were taken to Giwa Hospital and two injured persons were taken to Yusuf Dantsoho Hospital.
An eyewitness, who identified himself simply as Andrew, said the lone bomber was wearing a cross chain disguising himself as a Christian driving a Sport Utility Vehicle (SUV) with a tinted glass.
Some of the church securitymen were quoted as saying that they tried to stop the bomber from entering the church compound on the grounds that no vehicle was allowed to park inside the church premises. “The man came and we tried to stop him, he pretended as if he was reversing and all of a sudden, manoeuvred his way on a high speed and rammed through the church fence into the building.
A loud explosion was the next thing we heard.”
One of the Choir leaders, Mr Ezekiel Daniang, recalled the attack. He said: “As usual, we sing in between mass activities. I had just finished conducting one of such interval songs and I left to attend to another function within the church, when, all of a sudden, I heard a loud sound.
“The people that were mostly affected are my choir members and the children, although some other members of the church like those on the altar and the priest were also affected, two persons died instantly including the suicide bomber, but there were over 150 others injured with some in critical condition right now” he said.
An altar boy, Emmanuel Thomas, said the intervention of the Parish Priest saved him. “If not for the parish priest who drew me away, I would have suffered more injuries than I did. When we heard the first sound, the priest thought it was a spark of light. Then suddenly a heavy blast occurred, crushing the wall of the church and people started running. The next place I found myself was in this hospital”.
There was tension across the city as the news of the explosion spread. Some youth embarked on a reprisal, but the timely intervention of security agents saved what would have been another round of bloodletting.
Churches hurriedly closed services and sent their members home. Shops and markets were also hurriedly closed. Security officials started patrolling the city to stop any breakdown of law and oders.
Heavily armed security personnel were seen patrolling the streets to prevent any possible breakdown of law and order.
Apart from the church whose building was partially destroyed, many other houses were either destroyed or had their roofs blown off.
Christian youths took to the streets with machetes and sticks after the blast, targeting those they believed to be Muslims as anger again boiled over due to repeated church bombings in recent months.
A mob beat a motorcycle taxi driver near the church, then put his bike on top of him before dousing him with petrol and setting him on fire, an AFP correspondent who saw the violence said. Two other bloodied bodies, apparently killed by the mob, were seen near the church.
A rescue official, on condition of anonymity, also spoke of the man being burnt and said rescuers could not save him because the mob was too violent.
The mob also attacked an ambulance in the ensuing violence, but there was no indication that rescuers were wounded.
The Kaduna State Government called for calm and urged the people to ignore rumours of reprisal for the bombing.
In a statement Mr. Reuben Buhari, the Senior Special Assistant (Media) to Governor Patrick Yakowa, said anyone caught spreading such false information would be made to face ‘the full wrath of the law’.
He condoled with those who lost their loved ones and properties in the blast.
Buhari stressed that the security agencies were on top of the situation and assured residents of adequate security.
“So far we have eight dead and 145 injured from the church blast,” Musa Ilallah, regional coordinator for the National Emergency Management Agency, told AFP, noting that his death toll included the suspected bomber.
NEMA’s Kaduna Zonal Public Relations Officer, Aliyu Muhammed, said bodies of the victims had been deposited at various hospitals in the city.
According to NEMA, four of the bodied were deposited at Barau Dikko Specialists Hospital, three at 44 Military Hospital, while one has been deposited at the Garkuwa Specialist Hospital.
The statement said 81 injured persons were receiving treatment at Barau Dikko Specialist Hospital, while 35 others were being treated at 44 Military Hospital.
It said that 15 injured persons were also receiving treatment at St. Gerrad’s Hospital with five among them in critical condition.
Spokesman of National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) Yushau Shuaib, said: “A number of casualties have been evacuated to hospitals.” He confirmed that “the incident was suspected to be triggered by a suicide bomber in a car.”
There are conflicting information regarding the number of the dead.
Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Kaduna, the Most Rev. Matthew Ndagoso, said only four people died, adding that the number of those injured were still being collated from five hospitals.
The Bishop said the Parish Priest, Rev. Fr. Bonni, was receiving treatment at the Multi-clinic and was in a stable condition. He described the attack as most inhuman.
Rev. Ndagoso said: “It could have been worst. I have gone round all the hospitals where those injured were taken to in Kaduna. The saddest part of it is the children that where affected.
“The impact was at the children section of the church. All the five hospitals I visited so far, most of the victims are children. You began to wonder that a human being in his full senses could do this kind of thing.
“I think that people who can do this kind of thing need sympathy. I am convinced that they are out of their own mind. I know it is a very difficult and painful thing, but my message to the Christian community is that difficult situations do not make us less Christian, no matter how difficult the situations are.
“In the same vein, difficult situations do not make us less human. We remain human and even in the most difficult and trying situations. This is my call, to Christians and Catholic Youth: never and never should they retaliate. I urge them not to retaliate because two wrongs can never make a right.
“I am convinced that there are few individuals in this country who really want to plunge this country in to a difficult situation and they will stop at nothing. So, my call to Christians and Muslims is that the vast majority of us who believe in this country should never give them the chance, no matter what they do; we must ensure that we shame them”.
The blast created tension across the city as some youths went on a reprisal, but security men were immediately sent into the streets to maintain law and order.
Commissioner of Police Olufemi Adenaike, who visited the scene of the blast, urged residents to be calm, adding that security operatives were on top of the situation. He said he could not ascertain the number of the dead.
He said soldiers and the police as well as other sister security agencies were deployed in the area to ensure safety.