Yola, Kano explosions

At least 34 people were killed recently and 80 wounded after an explosive device went off at a market in the north eastern city of Yola, Adamawa State. The casualty figures were confirmed by the Coordinator of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) in Adamawa State. The explosions occurred at a market close to tipper […]

At least 34 people were killed recently and 80 wounded after an explosive device went off at a market in the north eastern city of Yola, Adamawa State. The casualty figures were confirmed by the Coordinator of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) in Adamawa State. The explosions occurred at a market close to tipper garage in Yola as traders were closing shops in the evening.
An eye-witness account stated that shortly before the blast, an unidentified man came to the tipper garage; gathered people and was dolling out N500 notes to those around. According to this account, little did the crowd know that it was a bait to attract them to the spot in order to blow them off. It was while the crowd was collecting the money that the bomb exploded, which explains the high casualty rate after the explosion.
Following the deadly incident, Governor Muhammadu Jubrilla Bindow had announced a ban on night markets; urging traders who operate at night to cooperate with government in the newly introduced measure. Governor Bindow explained that the decision to disallow all markets from operating beyond 6.00pm is to safeguard lives and property as markets have become soft targets for the heinous crimes of insurgents.
Less than 24 hours after the explosions in Yola, two separate suicide bombings occurred at a popular GSM phone market located in the Farm Center area of Kano city. The explosions occurred when two female suicide bombers detonated bombs within and outside the market. An eye-witness account indicates that the first explosion occurred at the first gate of the market while the second exploded at the second gate which serves as the main entrance in to the market.
The Kano State Commissioner of Police, Alhaji Muhammadu Musa Katsina, confirmed after visiting the scene of the blasts that 15 people were killed including the two female suicide bombers and 53 others wounded in the attack. Other eye-witness accounts believe that the casualty figure could reach 50 because the bombs were detonated when business was at its peak when the market was filled up with traders and customers. Media reports revealed that the two female suicide bombers were brought to the market in Sharon space wagon. It would be recalled that the same GSM phone market was bombed last year; leading to the death of several persons.
Reacting to the explosions that occurred in Yola and Kano, President Muhammadu Buhari urged Nigerians not to despair in the face of the terror attacks witnessed in the two northern cities of Yola and Kano. In a statement by the presidential media aide, Garba Shehu, President Buhari called on Nigerians to have confidence in the ability of the country’s “reinvigorated, well-equipped and well-motivated Armed Forces and security agencies to overcome Boko Haram very soon”.
Given the impact of a sustained intense onslaught on insurgents in recent times, market places and motor parks have become soft targets for Boko Haram insurgents which in the past claimed responsibility for suicide bomb attacks. The continuous degrading of insurgents’ hideouts by Nigerian troops and the arrest of some kingpins of the extremist group are commendable achievements.
While we condemn in the strongest terms the suicide attacks in Yola and Kano, we call for increased vigilance among Nigerians. Vigilance among civilian population is a potential life saver since security agents cannot be everywhere all the time to forestall every planned attack. Residents of every neighbourhood are encouraged to report any strange and suspicious persons and movements to the nearest security agency. Clerics and traditional rulers are urged to counter extremist ideologies in their preaching and public speeches respectively; enlightening citizens particularly youth that the road to heaven is never through suicide bombings.
Like the governor of Adamawa State, authorities in various states of the federation and in local communities should assess their respective situations and take measures that would effectively check and forestall incidence of suicide bombings. For instance, the use of detective devices which has been relaxed at the entrance of public places should be revived and sustained. Forensic detectives should trace the bus that dropped the two female suicide bombers at the GSM phone market in Kano in order to track other members of the extremist group.
We appeal to the governors of Adamawa and Kano states to settle the medical bills of victims that suffered injuries in the bomb attacks.