It was bloody Sunday in the ancient city of Kano as five people were Killed after a bomb was thrown into the premises of St. Charles Catholic Church in Sabongari area of the city.
The bloody incident came on the heels of goodwill messages by prominent Nigerians suing for peace and tolerance on the occasion of the Eid-el-Fitr celebration.
Confirming the incident, Nigeria Police public relations officer, Frank Mba, said an attacker threw the bomb into the church premises soon after the end of the church service.
Another bomb attack was foiled at North-West University, also in Kano.
This incident was confirmed by the official twitter handle of the Nigeria Police @PoliceNG and the Kano State Commissioner of Police , Mr Aderenle Shinaba. The Command in the tweets noted that “Only the female suicide bomber was killed in the foiled attack on the school”, adding that “5 policemen who isolated her sustained minor injuries”.
The Command further noted that “five persons (2 males, 2 females and a Soldier) were killed at St Charles Family Church, Kano at about 1:30pm today (Sunday) when an IED believed to have been tossed into the church by a suspect from across the road went off”.
The tweets added that “eight other persons were injured and taken to the hospital” insisting that “intensive patrols are ongoing to ensure the peace and security of Nigerians”.
While briefing reporters at the scene of the Church bomb attack, the Kano State Commissioner of Police, Aderenle Shinaba said the suspects had gone to a church on Zungeru Road, where they hid themselves at a Primary School, close to the church and threw explosives on the unsuspecting worshippers, which left no fewer than five people dead, eight injured,
Mr Shinaba said “the police have been able to save a lot of lives as a result of this singular act” insisting that “this would have caused collateral damage to people of Kano”.
He however expressed “deep appreciation to the good people of Kano for the support they are rendering to law enforcement agencies in the state” and hoped that “this will be sustained”.
He assured residents of the state that the police will continue to give its best to curb such occurrences.
Meanwhile, a statement by the Force Public Relations Officer, Frank Mba, said five suspects have been arrested “as part of on-going investigations into the various terror related incidents that occurred in Kano”.
The statement added that “two were arrested in connection with the foiled bomb attack at Isyaku Rabiu Mosque, while three were arrested in connection with the attack at St Charles Church”
Mr Mba, who noted that “all suspects are currently undergoing interrogation”, called on citizens to be vigilant and report any suspicious person or activities to security forces.
