There was bloodbath in Kano and Potiskum on Tuesday following suicide bomb attacks on motor parks in the two cities.
Fifteen people died and 53 others were injured in the Potiskum, Yobe State attack while 12 were said to have lost their lives in the incident at the Kano Line Motor Park on Zaria Road, Kano.
It was gathered that the victims of the Potiskum blast were taken to the general hospital in the community and the Federal Medical Centre Nguru.
A nurse at the general hospital said, “15 bodies brought here from the scene of the blast have been deposited in the mortuary. Some of those injured are in critical conditions at the Accident and Emergency Unit. It is likely the death toll will rise Those whose wounds are not serious would be treated and discharged.”
An eyewitness claimed that the female bomber entered a bus at the Tashan Dan Borno Motor Park along the busy Kano Road in the city, pretending to be a traveller.
He said that the driver of the bus with Kano registration number XA 592 GBT was still waiting for more passengers when the bomber detonated explosives tied to her body at about 11.45am.
The entire area, according to him, was immediately thrown into confusion by the explosion which sent a huge ball of fire from the bus up the skies.
But another witness said the bomber alighted from a tricycle, dashed into the mini- motor park and set off the explosives.
An official of the motor park union said, “The loaders were getting ready to collect money from passengers when we heard a loud sound and the car went up in flames.”
Yobe State has witnessed several suicide bomb attacks in recent times in places like motor parks, markets and restaurants .
Last Sunday, one happened at a phone market in Potiskum. It left five dead and 40 injured.
Three suicide bombers were said to have carried out the Kano Line Motor Park attack at about 3.15pm on Tuesday.
One of the bombers was said to have escaped while two of his colleagues died alongside 10 others when the bombs exploded.
It was learnt that the bombers, whose ages ranged between 17 and 18, carried hand bags on their back and mixed up with passengers in the park.
An eyewitness, Bello Ibrahim, told journalists that two of the suicide bombers stood by the side of an Urvan bus which was loading passengers at that time the bombs exploded.
Ibrahim, a revenue collector at the motor park, said, “Shortly after I left the park, I heard a deafening sound. On turning back, I saw dead bodies being roasted by fire caused by the bomb blast.
“I was suspicious when I saw two of the bombers. They were young boys with strange faces.They killed about 10 people, including the man that writes the passenger manifest and a bread seller .”
The state Commissioner of Police, Idris Ibrahim, who visited the scene of the incident, said 12 people were killed, adding that investigation into the blast was ongoing.
He said, “As you can see, it involves three vehicles, a Volkswagen Sharan, a Toyota Urvan bus and a Volkswagn Golf . We estimated that about 12 people died in the bomb blast and from the information we gathered from the scene, it seems that the two suicide bombers came in that Sharan as passengers and while moving out of the motor park, detonated their bombs.”
Jonathan regrets attacks
President Goodluck Jonathan condemned the attacks, regretting that they came at a time his administration and multinational forces were doing everything possible to recover areas formerly controlled by Boko Haram.
Jonathan, in a statement by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Reuben Abati, commiserated with families who lost their loved ones to the bombings.
The statement read in part, “The President shares the grief of all the bereaved families and is deeply saddened by the continued loss of many innocent lives to misguided and desperate fanatics who are now feeling the intense counter-insurgency operation by the Nigerian Armed Forces.
“The President assures all Nigerians and the people of the North-Eastern states in particular, that the days of mourning victims of incessant terrorist attacks in the country will soon be over as the tide has now definitely turned against Boko Haram.
“President Jonathan further assures the people of Nigeria that the gallant, courageous and patriotic officers and men of the Nigerian Armed Forces, supported with new platforms, equipment and logistics will carry the ongoing operations against the terrorists through to a successful conclusion in the shortest possible time.
“He affirms that his administration will continue to take all necessary actions to guarantee the success of ongoing military operations against the terrorist group and drastically reduce its ability to take and hold territory or recruit, groom and brainwash young persons to undertake suicide bombings on soft targets.”
80 year-old American missionary kidnapped
Meanwhile, an 80 year -old American missionary, Rev. Phyllinx Sogor, has been kidnapped in Kogi State.
The kidnappers were said to have on Monday invaded Sogor’s Nursery/Primary School at Emi-woro, a village in Ajaokuta Local Government Area, and pulled the old woman out of her office.
They were said to have led her away through a hill in a forest behind the school.
As of 5pm on Tuesday, the suspected kidnappers had yet to contact the school authorities or other concerned stakeholders on the whereabouts or ransom for the release of the missionary.
The Police Public Relations Officer, Kogi State Command, Sola Adebayo, confirmed the abduction to journalists in Lokoja.
He said that police officers had secured the school premises, appealing to the residents of the neighbouring communities to assist with information that could lead to the rescue of the octogenarian and the arrest of the culprits.
A statement on the Free Methodist Church’s website on Tuesday stated that the United States Embassy, the State Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigations were collaborating with Nigerian security agencies for the rescue of the victim.
The statement was attributed to one Bishop David Kendall.
