No fewer than 200 died while about 270 were injured on Friday as the violent Boko Haram sect bombed the 10,000 capacity Central Mosque where the Emir, Alhaji Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, leads prayers.
About 10 gunmen went on a shooting spree after the blast at the mosque, which is close to the Emir of Kano’s palace. A rescue official, who spoke with AFP, put casualty figures at almost 400, adding that 120 were killed and 270 seriously injured in the three explosions that rocked the mosque.
Anybody who condemn Boko Haram, they always try to kill him. Just few weeks after Emir Sanusi urge the people to defend themselves against Boko Haram, they decided to strike in Kano
Emir Sanusi who tradtionally leads the Jumat prayers at the mosque had traveled to Saudi Arabia late on Thursday night, hence he was not at the Mosque when Boko Haram bombs went off.
Witnesses said the incident happened just as the people of Kano were getting set for Friday prayers.
The Editor, BBC Hausa Service, Mansur Liman, was quoted as saying that people had witnessed “horrible” scenes in a nearby hospital.
A local reporter who resides in Kano, Chijjani Usman, told Reuters: “The attackers have bombed the mosque. I saw people screaming.”
One eyewitness, who spoke with the BBC’s Focus on Africa, said, “The Imam was about to start prayer when he saw somebody in a car trying to force himself into the mosque. But when people stopped him, he detonated the explosions. People started running helter-skelter.”
“A third one went off in a nearby road close to the Qadiriyya Sufi order. The blasts were followed by gunshots by the police to scare off potential attacks.”
His account was backed up by another witness, Hajara Tukur, who said she lives nearby.
A senior rescue official confirmed that several bodies had been brought to just one Kano area hospital, while over 126 people had been admitted with injuries at three facilities.
“Those figures are going to climb,” he told AFP on condition of anonymity, as he was not authorised to speak to the media.
A military official, Capt. Ikechukwu Eze, also said scores of people were killed and many others injured.
Meanwhile, two suspected bomber were said to have been arrested at the scene of the incident, just as youths took to the street to protest what they called negligence by the police for not doing enough to protect the lives and property of the people.
The Kano State Police Command’s Public Relations Officer, Mustapha Abubakar,confirmed the incident but declined to give the casualty.
It would be recalled that the Emir recently called for people to arm themselves against Boko Haram.
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