Explosion rocks Kano, US, Canada flay Kaduna attacks

As critiscisms continued to greet Wednesday’s twin bombings in Kaduna metropolis, an Improvised Explosive Device went off at the New Road Motor Park in Kano on Thursday.

But unlike the Kaduna blasts, which death toll has risen from 70 to 75, five persons died and eight were injured in the latest Kano incident. Some vehicles in the park were also damaged.

The Kano explosion led to a stampede as people struggled to leave the scene where 70 lives were lost in a similar blast last year.

The PUNCH gathered   the IED was conveyed in a refrigerator which was smuggled into the park by a cart pusher.

Eyewitness accounts indicated that the cart pusher was able to beat security at the motor gate because he packaged the refrigerator like a passenger luggage.

Kano State Commissioner of Police, Adelenre Shinaba, confirmed to   journalists at the scene that   five persons, including a woman, lost their lives to the blast.

Adding that   ‘‘eight others who were injured were taken to hospital for treatment,” he explained that the expolosive “went off at the point of loading the refrigerator to in a stationary vehicle.”

In Kaduna,   the state Commissioner for Information and Chieftaincy Affairs, Ben Bako, told journalists that five injured victims of the Kaduna explosions died on Wednesday night in hospitals where they were admitted.

“We have 37 victims currently receiving treatment in both the 44 Army Reference Hospital and the Yusuf Dantsoho General Hospital, Tudun-wada, also in Kaduna. Thirty five victims are at the 44 Army Reference Hospital while two   are at the Yusuf Dantsoho Hospital,” Bako said.

A former Head of State, Maj. Gen. Muhammadu Buhari, and an Islamic cleric, Sheikh Dahiru Bauchi, were the targets of the attacks carried out by lone bombers.

The incidents forced Governor   Mukhtar Yero   to impose a 24-hour curfew which was lifted on Thursday.

US, Canada condemn Kaduna bombings

US and Canada, in two separate statements on Thursday, called on the Federal Government to investigate the explosions.

They   also extended their sympathies to the injured and the families of the dead.

The US statement was signed by the Deputy Spokesperson,   Department of State, Marie Harf, while that of Canada was by the Minister of Foreign Affairs and   International Human Rights, Deepak Obhrai.

The US statement read, “We are also concerned by reports that these blasts may have also targeted a former Head of State, Maj. Gen. Muhammadu Buhari.

“We extend our sympathies to the loved ones of the dead victims . We call on Nigerian authorities to fully investigate these attacks, and we urge all Nigerians to avoid reprisals and continue to practise the interfaith cooperation that violent extremists seek to undermine.”

The Canadian government described the blasts as cowardly and urged that the perpetrators be brought to justice.

It said, “Canada condemns in the strongest terms the two terrorist attacks in Nigeria’s Kaduna region, which killed   innocent victims.

“These cowardly acts took place on one of the most important nights of Ramadan, and reports are that one of the bombs targeted a former Nigerian leader, Maj.Gen. Buhari.

“They also follow on the heels of Boko Haram’s brutal destruction of Damboa and recent attacks on Chibok, the hometown of the kidnapped schoolgirls.

“On behalf of all Canadians, I call for a swift justice for the perpetrators of this violence and offer our sincere condolences to the families and friends of the victims.”

Nigeria sliding into darkness –Northern govs

In Minna, Niger State, the Northern States Governors’ Forum lamented that Nigeria was gradually sliding into a dark period of uncertainty, fear and   mistrust.

The forum, in a statement by its   Chairman, Babangida Aliyu, said   that those who sponsored the series of blasts in the country should be dealt with to serve as a deterrent to others.

It     described the attacks as unfortunate, ungodly and a dastardly show of shame and advised that “the issue of security must therefore not be politicised.”

The group said, “It is indeed very unfortunate the twin blasts targeted at Gen. Buhari and Shiek Bauchi in Kaduna which led to the death of many innocent Nigerians. We must therefore realise that activities of terrorists have no limit and focus.

“Nigerians must therefore understand that there is no single person spared by the deadly terror organisation causing serious security challenge in the country.”

“We must therefore, as a people, come together and fight terrorism. We must not see it as the problem of a section of the country alone. The issue of security must   be given the attention it deserves as no one is spared in the onslaught by insurgents.”

While condoling with the families of the deceased, the NSGF prayed that Allah grants them Aljantu Firdaus.

It also thanked Allah for sparing the life of   Buhari and Bauchi, adding that they should see their escape as an opportunity to serve God and humanity better.

The   forum   also security operatives to investigate the incident and expose those behind the cowardly act.

We’ll hold FG responsible if anything happens to Buhari –APC govs

Fifteen opposition party governors under the aegis of the Progressives Governors’ Forum have said they would hold     the Federal Government   responsible should anything happen to   Buhari.

The governors condemned Wednesday’s twin explosions in Kaduna, the loss of innocent lives, and what they described as a clear assassination attempt on   Buhari.

The forum said this in a statement   issued by its Chairman, Rochas Okorocha, and all its members in Abuja.

According to the PGF, the   attack on the former head of state was coming just two days after he urged President Goodluck Jonathan to stop waging war on Nigerians and to devote more time and energy to the war against terrorism.

The attack on Buhari, according to them,   confirms their belief   that the APC   leaders are   no longer safe.

The statement partly read, “For the avoidance of doubt, we shall hold the Federal Government responsible for any further attempts on the life of Gen. Buhari and other APC leaders.

“The PGF also lends its voice to   Buhari’s statement to President Jonathan that it is unwise and against the spirit of social democracy that so many innocent lives should be lost simply in the quest to demobilise the APC and retain power at all cost.”

They   called on the Federal Government to take urgent steps to investigate the Kaduna attacks and make the   findings public.

The governors also urged the President to manage his obsession with power well by working for the good of all   Nigerians.

The PGF   described as a great shame that Nigeria, under Jonathan, had become the most dangerous place in the world in terms of deadly terrorist attacks.

The governors   said they were also worried by the statement credited to the Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Kenneth Minimah, that soldiers were deserting the Army for fear of Boko Haram.

They said, “Our question is what happened to the vast sums of money devoted to security and defence in the last four years of the Jonathan presidency and is the desertion of soldiers linked to the theft of monies meant for military equipment?”

FG’s theory on B’Haram up in flames, says APC

The APC on Thursday also   said   the attack on Buhari had changed the theory about Boko Haram   and knocked the bottom off the sinister, irresponsible and partisan colouration given to   insurgency by the Federal Government.