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No
fewer than 20 persons were believed to have been killed in Sabon Gari
area of Kano on Monday as suspected terrorists detonated about four
bombs in the neighbourhood.
It was learnt that one of the
explosions, believed to have been carried out by Islamic sect, Boko
Haram, occurred at a drinking joint in Sabon Gari, where most of the
non-indigenes reside.
The blasts occurred on Igbo Road, Enugu Road and New Road, opposite Ado Bayero Square.
The first blast was said to have
occurred at about 9.12pm near International Hotel, while the second
blast followed three minutes later.
Security forces immediately condoned off
both sites, which prevented people from moving closer to the places hit
by the explosions.
A resident of the area, who spoke to one
of our correspondents on the telephone, said there were series of
explosions, which had created pandemonium in the commercial area of the
state capital.
The resident, who craved anonymity, said
the explosions were still ongoing as of 10pm, adding that there had
been at least two explosions before the latest one at about 9.30pm.
It was difficult to ascertain the number of casualties of the explosions but Channels TV, in its 10pm news report, said about 20 people had been killed.
AFP reports that “at least four explosions” had occurred in the Sabon Gari neighbourhood on Monday.
“There is confusion all over the place.
There were four huge explosions, so huge that they shook the whole area.
Everywhere is enveloped in smoke and dust,” Chinyere Madu, a fruit
vendor, told AFP.
Kola Oyebanji, a resident of the neighbourhood, believed “beer parlours” were the target.
He said, “My house is not far from there. All my windows are shattered.”
The cause of the blasts was not immediately clear.
The spokesman for the Joint Task Force, Captain Ikedichi Iweh, confirmed the explosions but refused to give details.
The Commissioner of Police, Kano State,
Mr. Musa Daura, who confirmed the incident, claimed that six persons
were killed during the blasts while six others were injured.
Boko Haram had claimed responsibility
for coordinated suicide blasts at a bus park in Sabon Gari in March that
killed about 22 people.
However, in Lagos, 42 suspected members
of Boko Haram were on Monday paraded by the 81 Division of the
Nigerian Army in Lagos.
They were nabbed between July 12 and July 23 in various parts of Lagos and Ogun states
According to the Nigerian Army, the
suspects fled from Borno State following a state of emergency
declared by the Federal Government.
Although most of the suspects spoke in Hausa language, a few who managed to communicate in pidgin, confessed that they had been involved in terrorist activities in the past.
One of them, Hassan Ibrahim, who
admitted recruiting some of the suspects, disclosed that he, in company
with Ibrahim Ismail and Alhaji Black, killed a soldier and a
civilian identified only as Buka in Maiduguri.
He said, “We rode a tricycle in
Maiduguri and killed a soldier and one Buka. It was Alhaji Black that
pulled the trigger. We also carried out some other operations in the
area.
“Later, I met both Ismaili and Alhaji Black in Lagos, while I was riding okada (motorcycle).”
Black, who was also accused by Ismail
of being a member of the sect, denied the accusation. He said he had
been riding a motorcycle in Lagos in the past five years, adding
that he was arrested during a raid in Kirikiri, a surburb of Lagos.
Some of the other suspects denied being terrorists, saying that they had been in Lagos for many years.
The General Officer Commanding the 81
Division,Maj.- Gen. Obi Umahi, said the suspects were arrested during
raids by intelligence operatives. He explained the raid was carried
out following intelligence report that the sect planned to unleash
terror on parts of the South-West.
He said the raids were conducted at
Ibafo trailer park and Ileke new trailer garage in Ogun State;
Aviation quarters at Mafoluku, Oshodi; Ketu/Mile 12 Motor Park; Orile
Trailer Park; Lekki new extension and Bar Beach.
These places, according to him, were fast becoming Boko Haram enclaves.
Umahi said that during interrogation,some of the suspects gave useful information that led to the arrest of others.
The GOC said, “The raids were conducted
between July 12 and July 23 in various hideouts in Lagos and Ogun states
which are fast becoming Boko Haram terrorist enclaves.”
The army boss did not say if arms were
recovered from the suspects, but he added that they were still trying to
track their weapons.
“From investigations, we cannot say if
they are in Lagos to stage an attack or running for their lives.
Investigations would reveal that,” he said.
Our correspondent learnt that due to the
pressure from the armed forces in Borno, Yobe and Adamawa states,
suspected Boko Haram members had been fleeing to the South-West.
The PUNCH had reported last
Wednesday that the police in Ogun State had arrested a 22-year-old man,
Giraima Suri, suspected to be a member of Boko Haram in Isheri-Kara in
Ifo Local Government area.
The police had said the suspect, who hails from Bulunkutu Kasuwa, Maiduguri, Borno State, was arrested based on a tip off.
The Police Public Relations Officer,
Muyiwa Adejobi, in a statement in Abeokuta, said the suspect told
policemen that he fled Maiduguri to the South-West following aggressive
manhunt for members of the sect by security operatives.
The PUNCH learnt that since
security agents foiled a terror plot and arrested a suspected terrorist,
Ibrahim Musa, in Ijora, Lagos on March 22, 2013, there had been
constant raids across the state.
The Minister of Special Duties, Kabiru
Tanimu, had also said last month that at least 104 Boko Haram members
were being detained in prisons in Lagos.
The Director, State Security Service,
Lagos State Command, Mr. Ben Olayi, who spoke to our correspondent on
the telephone, said the sudden interest in Lagos State by the suspected
sect members was predictable because Lagos has a special status.
Olayi said the SSS was collaborating with its sister agencies in the state to make sure that no terror plot succeeded.
He said, “We will not stop doing what we
have been doing in terms of security. We will keep monitoring them
(terrorists). We had anticipated that when the heat was much for them in
the North, some of them would come to Lagos because Lagos is always the
city of first choice.
“We have not made any arrests in recent
times but we have been giving other security agencies information which
they have been using to make arrests.”
Source: Punch.com
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