IT was another dark Sunday in Kaduna State yesterday, when a twin bomb attack claimed many lives inside the St. Andrew’s Military Protestant Church, at Jaji military cantonment, a military formation, about 25 kilometers from the state capital.
The Director, Army Public Relations, Brigadier General Bola Koleoso, said the blast left 11 dead and 30 wounded.
It was also learnt that the two suicide bombers also died in the explosions.
The suicide bombers were said to have driven a Golf 3 and a Toyota Camry into the St. Andrew’s Protestant Church, causing death and injuries to worshippers.
Those who survived the blast were rushed to the Military Hospital, the 44 Reference Hospital and NAF Hospital, in Kaduna.
The scene of blast was taken over by combat-ready soldiers who denied entry to many, even as journalists were barred in Kaduna from visiting the hospitals where the injured were taken.
The Director, Army Public Relations, Brigadier General Bola Koleoso, said: “The incident occurred at about 12:15 p.m. when the church service was over and the congregation had dispersed, leaving only the elders of the church.
“The first car was said to have exploded without any casualty and many people had gathered to see the wreckage of the car when the second suicide bomber arrived and detonated the bomb.”
But a source said: “Many people were killed, I am not in a position to say how many people are dead, but they are many, I saw many dead bodies. I think the people that died may be in the region of 40 or 50. I cannot say precisely. Even some of those who are injured, I am not very sure they will survive it.
“This is sheer wickedness of the highest order. How can any human being plan this kind of wickedness? We are now feeling very insecure in the barracks. Our security system here has been very porous. When people come and they stop them from entering, they will call their relations and the people they know and they will be allowed inside. This is a very serious embarrassment to us.”
The Kaduna State Commissioner of Police, Mr Femi Adenaike, said by phone that the police could not give details of what happened.
Meanwhile, the president of the Senate, Senator David Mark has condemned Sunday’s bomb attack, saying that aggrieved groups should embrace dialogue.
Mark, in a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Paul Mumeh, said that the time has come for any aggrieved group or persons to accept dialogue.
He stated that rather than resort to violence, perpetrators should give peace a chance.
“ We have more to gain by being our brothers’ keeper,” he stated.
According to Mark, security operatives also need to step up the challenge of insecurity in the land.
He said: “This is a challenge to all irrespective of religious, ethnic or political leanings. It’s about the survival of Nigeria.”
Speaker of the House of Representatives, Honourable Aminu Tambuwal, aslo condemned the bomb blasts.
In a statement issued in Port Harcourt by his Special Adviser on Media and Public Affairs, Malam Imam Imam, Tambuwal urged the security agencies not to despair over the attack on their facilities.
He said no religion condones attack on innocent worshippers, and urged all those behind the bombings to stop forthwith.
While grieving with the families of those who lost loved ones in the attack in Jaji, Tambuwal prayed for the quick recovery for those injured in the bombings.
He restated the commitment of the House of Representatives to do everything possible to assist security and other relevant agencies to tackle the problems of insecurity in the country.
In another development, unidentified gunmen on Sunday morning attacked a divisional police station in Isa Local Government Area of Sokoto State.
An eyewitness said he saw several gunmen moving towards the police station firing at the station ceaselessly. There is no confirmation of retaliation by the police or casualty as of the time of filing this report.
Meanwhile, IT was a black Sunday for a couple and their child at Corner Masalaci, on the outskirts of Kano, when they were shot dead by people suspected to be gunmen.
According to an eyewitness who preferred anonymity, members of the family were inside their car on the way to the church when they were shot by the gunmen.
It is recalled that the same Corner Masalaci, some months back, was the spot where no fewer than three persons were shot dead by gunmen.
The source further disclosed that at about 10.00 a.m when people were on their way to their various churches for the morning service, they heard a gunshot.
“Residents rushed out of their houses to the main road only to discover that a couple and their child had been shot inside their car,” the source stated further.
He added that some minutes after the incidents, members of the military Joint Task Force (JTF) arrived at the scene and started shooting into the air, before they moved the corpses and the vehicle away.
The windscreen of the car, according to the source, was shattered by the bullets, as the pieces were seen littering the ground.
Speaking with journalists, the state Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Magaji Majia, confirmed the incident, adding that the gunmen escaped before the police arrived at the scene.
The Tribune
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