5th December, 2012
Two policemen were shot dead at a roundabout in the Nigerian City of Kano today. About the same time, a bomb went off near a police station also in the city. Also two homemade bombs thrown at a bus carrying passengers,Tuesday night damaging the bus and injuring several people. And later today, improvised bombs were thrown at a transformer owned by the Power Holding Company of Nigeria.
Police, while isolating the explosion around the bus as a case of burst tyre, could not say whether the other three actions were connected, but high on the suspicion list was the Boko Haram, which in January launched some multiple attacks on the city, killing over 200 people. But the police position on the bus contradicted the version presented by the JTF.
“Two IEDs were thrown at the bus which exploded and injured the driver and one other person in the vehicle,” Lieutenant Iweha Ikedichi of the JTF said.
He said windows in the bus were shattered and one of its wheels burst, adding that no arrest has been made.
Later near the scene of the bus attack, gunmen shot dead two policemen directing traffic at a roundabout.
“We lost two mobile policemen in an attack by some gunmen,” a senior security source told AFP on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to speak on the incident, adding that the assailants later fled.
A medical source at the Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital near the scene of the attack said two dead bodies in mobile police uniform had been brought to the morgue.
Residents also reported an explosion early Wednesday outside a police station in the city which injured at least one civilian.
They said the explosion across the road from a police station caused panic in the area as policemen on duty fired shots to fend off further attacks.
An AFP reporter said the area had been cordoned off by troops. An ambulance was also seen leaving the scene carrying one person with a bloodied face.
Police authorities also confirmed an attack on a transformer belonging to the Power Holding Company of Nigeria, PHCN, Wednesday morning along Zoo Road within the heart of the city.
Eyewitness account said two gunmen men on a motor bike suspected to be members of Boko Haram threw Improvised Explosive Devices, IEDs, at a transformer located along Zoo Road,
“I saw two men throwing explosives at the transformer, but no life was lost and nobody was injured,” said a resident.
According to a statement from the office of the Police Public Relations Officer, Magaji Majiya, “On Wednesday, 5 December, at about 7:30 p.m., a sound of blast was heard along Zoo Road by the centre reservation area of the road.
“Immediately, the Anti-bomb Disposal Unit and patrol teams were mobilized to the scene. The whole area was cordoned off and searched, there was no other explosives left undetonated.
“No one was injured and no loss of life or damage recorded, no arrest was also made. Roads were opened and people were going about their normal businesses.”
The Zoo Road explosion came barely 24 four hours after a reported blast on a Luxury bus along Zaria Road.
Also in a statement issued by Magaji Majiya Wednesday afternoon, Kano Police Command claimed the blast on the Luxury bus along Zaria Road was as a result of a burst tyre.
According to the statement, “the Kano State Police Command wishes to inform the general public that on Tuesday 4th December, 2012 at about 2000hrs along Zaria road by AKTH Round about, a Luxurious Bus carrying passengers coming into Kano City had one of its tyres bust while on motion which resulted in heavy sound.
“Immediately, the Anti Bomb Disposal Unit of the Command was deployed to the scene, the whole area was inspected and no explosive materials were recovered. Bomb experts said the sound was due to the intensity of the bust tyre which blew open the boot.”
“There was no injury to the few passengers or damage to the vehicle,” adding that the entire luggage were intact,” and urged newsmen to always cross-check their facts before rushing to the press.
“ False reporting as well as publication of pictures that do not reflect the actual events as was done in this case heightens tension in the society and inimical to the desired peace and stability in the state.”
Meanwhile, Joint Task Force, JTF, has observed that the recent attacks by gunmen operating in remote parts of the city were
facilitated by the reduction of check points in the state capital.
Speaking with our Correspondent on phone, JTF spokesman, Lt. Ikedichi Iweha said JTF check points in the city had been drastically reduced in response to public complaints, adding that the collapse of some of the check points may have opened space for gunmen to operate.
Lt Ikedichi noted that this adjustment has to some extent affected
the original security concept.
“We were receiving complaints, some in writing that the security check points in certain quarters constituted some kind of threat to business and other activities and should be dismantled, which was done in the interest of peace.
“It is possible that these terrorists and other criminals are
cashing in on the situation to perpetrate their nefarious activities, members
of the press were equally engaged to prosecute this campaign,” Ikedichi stated.
He further noted that if the original security arrangement had remained, it would have been difficult for gunmen to operate freely, particularly in isolated parts of the city where some of them now lay siege.
Updated with reports from Maduabuchi Nmeribeh/Kano at 9 p.m