AGENCE FRANCE PRESSE
(additional reporting by PREMIUM TIMES)
17 June, 2012
Bombs rocked three churches in
neighbouring cities in Nigeria’s northern Kaduna state on Sunday, injuring dozens of worshippers, emergency services and residents said.The number of casualties in the blasts in
the neighbouring cities of Zaria and
Kaduna was not immediately clear.
Police and the military cordoned off the areas around the churches. The state-run National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) said the blasts happened in the Wusasa and Sabongari districts of Zaria, previously targeted by the Islamist group Boko Haram. Residents in the areas said many people were injured in the attacks on the Christ
the King Catholic Cathedral and ECWA
GoodNews Church. “Many people in the church were injured but I have not seen any dead bodies,” a woman who was in the church in Wusasa at the time of the explosion said by telephone from her hospital bed.
Several residents in Sabongari said the
church was badly damaged. “I went close to the church but could not access it due to heavy police and military security deployed around it,” resident
Mahmud Hamza told AFP. “From where I stood I could see a badly destroyed church still burning from the explosion. It is obvious there were deaths from the scale of the damage and the fire,” he added. Another resident spoke of seeing bodies being taken out of the church.Officials later reported a third bomb
attack on a church in Kaduna, but there
were no immediate reports of casualties.
Boko Haram has claimed responsibility for a series of attacks targeting churches in Africa’s most populous nation and largest oil producer.
Meanwhile, PREMIUM TIMES reports monitored by Beegeagle’s Blog indicate that angry youths in the Gonin Gora area of christian-dominated Kaduna South have taken to the streets to protest the attack and have erected barricades along the Kaduna-Abuja Expressway following today’s attack on a church in the neighbourhood which has been identified as Shalom Church in the Tirkaniyaa precincts of Gonin Gora, on the southern outskirts of Kaduna metropolis.
Latest AFP reports indicate that two more church bombings rocked Christian-dominated towns in Kaduna Sunday, bringing to five the number of explosions in the northern state, a local emergency official said.
“There were two simultaneous bomb
attacks on churches in Nassarawa and
Barnawa in the south of Kaduna this
morning.We are yet to get information on casualities,” Kaduna spokesman for the National Emergency Management Agency(NEMA) Aliyu Mohammed told AFP.
Southern Kaduna is some four kilometres from Kaduna city and
about two hours drive from Zaria,where three churches were hit by bomb explosions early Sunday.
There have been no immediate reports of casualties.
Sunday sunday medicine
Yes o..and the problem we are told has to do with mind-bending POVERTY, a variant thereof which was caused by christians and which only allows the angry man to see and target christian worshippers and their churcheson Sunday.
Armed proselytization and religious intolerance supposedly have nothing to do with it. Fire burn them all.
Regardless..in the Name of God the Father..”IN NOMINE PATRIS ET FILII ET SPIRITUS SANCTI”, AMEN.
Of course now, abi the book that is haram did not include the ones on IED making. Only in Nigeria can these kind of outrages go unanswered. Even if they want to rule must it be the innocent? If they start killing off politicians wouldn’t results be attained quicker. This madness is beyond me
And of course, there is never an UNSOLICITED UNEQUIVOCAL CONDEMNATION FROM THE ISLAMIC WORLD.
Thats because as we know this is all a western, Zionist, imperialist, Chines, Japanese, Hindu, Christian, Crusader plot to blacken the blessed name of Islam
Wow, what is the name of the drug you are smoking? Abeg cool down there man. Those who don’t stand up against evil is also responsible for the act. Make una remember say nobody has a monopoly on violence. Wicked ba wicked. So please stop the conspiracy theories. Blessing to all.
@DOZIEX,it is true ooo,none of the top muslim cleric is coming out to condemn this madness,hmmm…
Now a weekly affair. Inspite of previous targeted bombings, there seemed to be no contingency efforts to protect worshipers on a Sunday. There’s a gory video on youtube of the Zaria attack, not willing to post on here. But view at your own discretion.
That, unfortunately, happens to be the revisionist slant which a few congenital liars upcountry have introduced into the crisis.
These days we hear a few of such revisionists asking if there is even a group called Boko Haram
The SSS caught a convert from Christianity over his complicity in the Bayero University attacks. He used to be called ‘Moses’ before he was converted by the late Mohammed Yusuf, the slain BH leader.
Then, some christian elements where caught with explosives which were believed to have been intended for an attack on a church in Bauchi.
Also, a few scammers in Benin also used the name of BH to try and extort money and then.
Conveniently, these lying fools have conveniently decided to make those isolated incidents the mainstream activity whereas there are hundreds of IED and gun attacks which BH have owned up to.
What is new about a 419er using BH to try and extort money? MILLIONS oF SCAM emails using the name of the Central Bank of Nigeria have been sent around the world by fraudsters. Does that make them the real CBN staff or does it make the CBN a scamming agency?
Did you notice the tone of blackmail and calumny against the JSTF which ran through the statement issued by the Borno Elders last week? Compare that to the conciliatory and almost filial tone of the appeal which they sent to Boko Haram. Were they scared or were they merely patronising their own? If they were scared, why then do they want the JSTF pulled back from Borno?
BH for their part keep on saying that they are taking vengeance for muslims killed by christians. So at what point are the numbers going to be evened out and who is the agent provocateur, ab initio? The hordes who set upon muslims today are the sort who BH mean apparently. So did they go out to kill muslims or were they taking vengeance? Think back to the premeditated IED attacks on Christians on Xmas eve 2010 and last November’s series of attacks in the New Jerusalem area of Damaturu or the acts of genocide perpetrated against Christians at an open air beer garden in Maiduguri last July.
WHO cast the first stone?
And it is not yet time for the ICC to declare Abubakar Shekau a war criminal and a genocidaire ala Thomas Lugbanga and Bosco Ntaganda of the DR Congo and Joseph Kony of Uganda or their reasoning at the ICC has been blunted by oil-related concerns?
I’ve said it once and I’ll say it again, until people at the top start feeling the pressure nothing will change. Arrest every past governor and representative and party chairman from each affected state. Seize thier assets passports, travel ban on family and associates. Each state under martial law and direct Federal rule, prosecute all those arrested for cotrrupt practices, evidence will not be hard to find. Maximum sentences for all. Lets see what comes out in the plea bargains.
Shebi in 1966 the coup and massarces were in revenge for the death of a few corrupt Northern leaders (Maimalari excluded), and the resultant massacres were revenge, the coup was revenge and for secession and then the war for one Nigeria. Sothis time the massacres have already started, lets start eliminating the leaders through legal means and then if war comes we at least know who is on which side of the line
Martial law, main thing that caught my eye, one hundred percent with u
CHURCH BOMBS, RIOTS ROCK NIGERIA
17/06
KADUNA, Nigeria (AFP)
Multiple suicide attacks on churches in
northern Nigeria and subsequent rioting by Christian youths targeting Muslims killed at least 21 people on Sunday, officials said.
Bomb blasts struck three churches in the northern Kaduna state in the space of an hour, the latest in a string of Sunday attacks that has threatened to ignite wider sectarian strife across the divided country. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the bloodshed but the attacks were likely to be blamed on Boko Haram, an extremist group bent on creating an Islamic state and responsible
for scores of recent attacks.
Police placed the state under curfew for 24 hours “to assess the situation”, leaving Kaduna’s seven million inhabitants banned from leaving their homes for a full day.
Two churches were attacked in the city of Zaria and one in Kaduna City, killing at least 16 people, police said, adding all three attacks were carried out by suicide bombers.
After news of the blasts spread, Christian youths took to the main motorway that leads to the capital Abuja, attacking motorists who looked Muslim. Christian mobs carrying machetes and clubs were also prowling the streets of Kaduna city, denouncing the attacks, a Red Cross official said. “There were reprisals by Christian youths in areas near the scene of the blast. They moved in large numbers attacking people they believed to be Muslim,” said the official who asked for anonymity. “There were deaths, but I don’t have the figures,” he added.
An AFP reporter said he saw the bodies of 10 people killed by rioters at a morgue. An official from the National Emergency Management Agency, who also declined to be named said, “the total deaths from the bombings and protests are 21 deaths and 101 injured.”
The first blast struck ECWA Goodnews
Church in the Wusasa area of Zaria city at 8:35 am. The second explosion went off 10 minutes later at the Christ the King Catholic church in Zaria’s Sabongari area, a police statement said. The third blast hit the Shalom Church in Kaduna city at 9:30.
“A total of 16 persons have so far been
confirmed dead as a result of the
explosions within the three churches,”
national police spokesman Frank Mba
said in a statement. A worshipper at the Shalom Church in Kaduna City said the attack was carried out by a suicide bomber.
“I saw a car just drive into the church and right away the car exploded and killed a soldier and two private security guards guarding the church,” Joseph Emmanuel told AFP.
Emergency officials had also reported attacks on churches in Nassarawa and Barnawa in the south of the same state but police did not confirm them and the targets of the blasts remained unclear.
The police described the violence by
Christian youth mobs that followed the
attacks was termed “a momentary break down of law and order.”
The police chief urged “criminal elements who have been carrying out campaigns of violence on innocent Nigerians and institutions to desist forthwith,” in the statement issued from Abuja.
He also said a massive deployment of
forces had been ordered across “every
nook and cranny of the state.” One Kaduna said resident said it was not
safe to travel. “I cancelled my trip to Abuja because of the huge number of rioters that have taken over the roads,” the man told AFP.
The latest violence targeting Christians in Nigeria, Africa’s most populous nation and top oil producer, was swiftly condemned by the Vatican. “The systematic character (of the attacks) on Sunday is horrible and unacceptable,”
Vatican spokesman Federico Lombardi
told journalists, warning that, if
unchecked, the violence could widen an lead to yet more reprisals.
No group has claimed responsibility for
the attacks but the church blasts
resembled those previously claimed by
Boko Haram, responsible for more than
1,000 deaths since mid-2009. The Islamist group claimed a suicide
bombing at a church in Bauchi State that killed at least 15 earlier this month.
Nigeria’s population of 160 million is
roughly divided between a mainly-Muslim north and predominantly Christian south.
Unfortunately we are in for the long haul. Anyone who has followed insurgency like that of BH will know how hard it is to quash.. Its not something that can be done in the short term.. Ask the Algerians, the Russians and even Mexicans and Colombians (Though the latter two are drug related) Even if we police every single church in the north (which we don’t even have the capacity to do) BH has shown that there would just change their tactics has they have done in the past. Yes progress is being made especially in the arrest of many of their top shots and this might incapacitated their ability to carry out “big” attacks like the UN building. They have decided to splinter into cells and concentrate on hitting soft targets which are always very hard to defend but are very effective, cheap (all you need is some hand grenade and an ak47)
Declaring a state of emergency is a delicate game which might work long term but might also escalate the crisis to an a breaking point. We should remember this is really a battle for hearts and mind. The aim of BH is to cause division in this country and so far so good they are succeeding. Imposing a state of emergency would be a further win for them in their attempt to make this a us (the muslim north) vs them ( the christian south and christian president)
A state of emergency means the civilian administration voted in by the people would be replaced by military men. BH would really love that as it would play into their propaganda.
Yes more and more cleric ought to come out and condemn BH but we most also realize that the average norther is just as scared of BH. Lots of cleric and local politicians have been assassinated by BH for speaking out against the latter. A friend from Kano was telling me how people are even afraid to discuss the BH issue opening in gatherings because people have been known to receive death threat after sharing their views about BH in local gatherings (with people who are suppose to be friends) as it is now just like the Taliban. The people of the North feel under siege
The government now just need to turn of the hit against this people but I am afraid most of them battle would be fought in the shadows (Intelligence war) we might never see or hear them and it has to be done over a sustained period before it can start to bare fruit.
Tough hand is needed but a tactical toughness not a reactionary one. The government needs to up its game in the area of intelligence gathering and also try to win the hearts and mind of the north. The northern Muslim also needs to realize that in the end their loss would be the greatest as more and more people depart, their region sink in more into poverty and under development.
Gentlemen… this is going to be a long drawn out war.. as sad as it is to say.. But I know that in the end we will prevail. We most.
I agree with you on so many levels but I don’t think hearts and minds are that much of an issue in the purest sense as BH is not a popular movement but enforces its way by fear. Unlike th eTaliban they have not (to my knowledge) set up a shadow government and provided an alternative to the constituted authority, although that is an inevitable next step. Thats why martial law is needed, in order to ensure there are no ungoverned spaces for them to inhabit.
The key is for it to be done sensibly, COIN does Shooting men with beards or burning houses in the region of attacks. The key is to shut the town down and register all males between 16 and 50 as a start.
And then start creating low level jobs, not only does this give a bit of economic stimulus but it means that those employed will be occupied at least 8-10 hours a day, or so hopefully at night they will be too tired for nefarious activities.
Also creating small small jobs like street sweeper, casual labourers filling potholes means you have 100’s of people on the street who will be acting as your eyes and ears. If you work in the same place every day you know it intimately, you will notice things that are out of place, it also means that if any BH are employed they will not be likely to plant bombs where they work.
But still all of this is firefighting. The network analysis which is obviously going o through all the arrests and raids seems to be stopping at upper-low to mid level operatives. Key facilitators have not be narrowed down. The key to defeating the insurgency is to deny safe areas, neutralise specialists (bomb makers, weapons suppliers, suicide bombers) arrest facilitators (drivers, storemen, safe house keepers, messengers) and arrest or neutralise the financiers and key leaders
The bit about moving in and engaging those low-skilled chaps with very high expectations might work..
The Government of Gombe State has just laid down a precedent with the Kalaare Boys – neighbourhood urchins in the league of Area Boys in Lagos and Yandaba gangsters in Kano. It is a large pool of talent from which BH could recruit criminally-inclined fellows.
So Governor Dankwambo of Gombe State has laid out a programme which has seen the emergence of a 5,197-man outfit which is comprised of
- SECURITY MARSHALS to support the Police with intelligence gathering and neighbourhood watch
- TRAFFIC MARSHALS for road traffic control and
- ENVIRONMENTAL MARSHALS to help with environmental sanitation.
These guys are all paid 10,000-15,000 naira which might not be much but it gives these desperate fellas something to look forward to and removes them from the streets.
Again, it is an excellent home-grown template in a region where some unrealistic chaps expect pecuniary benefit to accrue, from a year of slashing throats and bombing churches, a la the Niger Delta militants adjudged by global opinion to have been worsted by Nigerian governments and multinational corporations alike.
Thanks for sharing that peace of news, I hope to see more of those kind of programmes. Kudos to the Governor
To further buttress your points would be the immediate physical situation of THE COIN DIVISION THIS IS NEEDED NOW.COIN OPERATIONS SHOULD BE a 24 hours cycle AND THE F.G needs to understand penny pinching is at their peril.
While I commend F.M. for his well respected analysis and experiences which we all thank GOD he survived I am beginning to realize that a velvet GLOVED FIST is what is going to solve this problem . I also don’t believe this b.h insurgency WILL BE ENDED by any touchy feely ANTI poverty measures
FM. you are right in one regard the F. G. is capturing the wrong people .the main sponsors need to treated like they are rats if they are caught trying to escape they should bear and feel the CONSEQUENCE .WHEN THE PRICE GETS TOO HIGH FOR THE MESSAGE TO BE CARRIED OUT THEN B.H WILL CEASE TILL THEN .
And as tough as this may feel THE F.G. NEEDS TO INVITE AS A MATTER OF URGENCY the GOVERNMENT OF PERU who had no choice but to eventually battle the SHINING path into submission