Canned drinks now used as bomb!!

AS the city of Kano seemed to be recovering from the devastating effect of the multiple bomb blasts that claimed no fewer than 200 lives, on Friday, bombs planted in two cars were defused on Sunday in the city.
This is just as President Goodluck Jonathan, on Sunday, said arrests had been made over attacks in the city of Kano and that the backers of the sect were being pursued.
One of the bomb-rigged cars, a Kia brand, was parked very close to Chula Oil at Eastern bye-pass, while the second car, a Honda Civic, was parked at the NNPC mega petrol station in Hotoro area of the city.
It was discovered that the two cars were parked to give the impression that the owners wanted to purchase fuel at the petrol stations.
However, two days after all the other cars had been removed from the petrol stations, the people of the area became suspicious and went to the authorities.
The people had noticed that the window of the cars were open but when it was night, a person would come and wind up the glass of the cars .
Following this, the security operatives combed the vehicles and discovered the bombs which they later defused.
All efforts to get police comments on the incident were unsuccessful, as a call to the Police Pubic Relations Officer (PPRO), ASP Magaji Majiya, did not go through while the state Commissioner of Police, Mr Idris Ibrahim, was said to have gone to receive President Goodluck Jonathan, who was in the state to visit the site of last Friday’s bomb blasts.
On Sunday, President Jonathan said arrests had been made over attacks in the city of Kano and the backers of the Islamist group Boko Haram were being pursued.
“Some arrests have been made. Some died in the process. Some were suicide bombers,” Dr Jonathan said in a British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) interview on Sunday during a visit to Kano.
“There must be people who are sponsoring them. Terrorists all over the world have their source of income,” he said.
“We are also looking into those areas to make sure that the so-called Boko Haram ... those who are encouraging them, those who are sponsoring them, shall be brought to book.”
Asked about the number of Boko Haram members, he said: “Nobody can say for now, because you know that they are not organised armed forces.”
Meanwhile, indications emerged on Sunday that Friday’s coordinated attacks in the city of Kano by agents of the dreaded Islamic militant sect, Boko Haram were a way of showing its anger against the security agencies, which recently drove its leader, Abubakar Shekau, to Niger Republic and equally foiled an attempt to enlist some young almajiris into the sect.
Sources close to the administration indicated that preliminary reports on the coordinated attacks on security outfits in Kano confirmed that the attacks were principally targeted at displaying the anger of the sect against the Nigerian Immigrations Service and the State Security Service (SSS), as well as the police, which had arrested over 300 suspected members of the sect.
It was gathered that the SSS, especially, was involved in thwarting the sect’s attempt to recruit some young almajiris in a village in Katsina, said to be close to Nigeria/Niger border.
Besides, it was learnt that the police had arrested close to 300 suspected members of the sect, who were mostly Nigeriens and Chadians and that many of them were being kept in cells at the different police formations in Kano.
Sources said that after the SSS dislodged Boko Haram’s recruitment agents back to Niger Republic through the Jibia border, its anger grew against the service and the Immigration Service.
The offence of the Immigration Service, according to sources, was its involvement in plans to deport a number of Nigeriens who had been indicted as members of the Boko Haram.
Said one of the sources: “There are attempts by one of the Boko Haram recruitment sources to recruit some innocent almajiris in a town close to the border in Katsina but the operatives of SSS dislodged them. They ran back to Niger through the Jibia border and they also learnt that the Immigration Service helped in that operation. So, they became angry at the SSS and Immigration.”
It was learnt that the Federal Government had placed all security agencies on the alert in the North so as to forestall plans to spread the attacks to other cities in northern Nigeria.
In another development, President Goodluck Jonathan was in Kano on Sunday to commiserate with the victims of Friday's multiple bomb attacks.
During the visit, he met with the Emir of Kano, Alhaji Ado Bayero, who assured him of traditional rulers' cooperation in the effort to root out the radical Islamic sect, Boko Haram, which has claimed responsibility for the blasts that killed over 100 people.
Speaking while receiving the president in his palace, the Emir assured him that he was not alone in the war against Boko Haram sect.
He said: "Mr President, be assured that we are in this together. We all must join hands with you to combat this evil that is threatening the welfare and security of all of us.
“We will continue to pray for you and the country and do all in our power as traditional rulers and religious leaders to complement the measures you are taking to end these unfortunate incidents.”
Jonathan got to the emir's palace after paying sympathy visit to victims of the Friday’s multiple bomb blasts that mostly affected police formations and immigration offices.
According to President Jonathan, all what we need is the cooperation of our people to help give relevant information to the security agencies
“Any attack on any leader or any part of the country is an attack on all of us, because you will never know when it will happen to you. Let all of us decide to collectively fight these terrorists. They cannot win Nigeria.”
President Jonathan told the Emir of Kano that “we have come to pay you and the good people of Kano a condolence visit over the acts of some elements in our society to create chaos to distract us. God willing, they will never succeed.”
He said bombing was relatively new, adding that some years back, nobody would believe that a Nigerian would be a suicide bomber, “but we are faced with this reality and we must find a way to tackle it,” the president said.
“We call on the Almighty Allah to encourage them and provide for them,” the president said while commiserating with the families of the victims.
Speaking in the same vein, the Emir of Kano said: “We are assuring the government that we are solidly behind your government in all the endeavours which you intent to take in order to bring peace and tranquility to Kano people in particular and to all Nigeria in general.”
Dr Bayero disclosed that the size, welfare and equipment of the police in the state were gorssly inadequate.
Following the Kano bomb blasts, Vice-President Namadi Sambo has called off the commencement of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) gubernatorial campaign for the Bayelsa State election scheduled for Yenagoa today.
The PDP announced in Abuja on Sunday that the Sambo-led committee for the 2012 gubernatorial election in Bayelsa State had suspended the grand campaign rally originally planned to take place in the state capital, because of the blasts in Kano.
In a statement issued by the National Publicity Secretary of the party, Professor Rufai Alkali, the party said a new date would be announced later for the event.
Meanwhile, the acting National Chairman of the party, Alhaji Abubakar Kawu Baraje, on behalf of the National Working Committee (NWC) and members of the party nationwide, has commiserated with President Goodluck Jonathan on “this shocking event” in Kano.
The PDP statement said, “our hearts go out, especially to the Governor of Kano State, Dr Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, the government and people of Kano State over this harrowing experience."
Meanwhile, British travellers have been warned not to travel to parts of Nigeria after Friday's terrorist bombing that left scores of people dead in Kano.
The British Foreign office, on Sunday, updated its travel advice for the African country, with a warning that people should not travel to Kano.
Also, the United Nations has condemned the attacks on the nation’s largest northern city.
A statement from the Secretary-General of the world body, Ban Ki-Moon, said: “the Secretary-General is appalled at the frequency and intensity of recent attacks in Nigeria,” and that the incident demonstrated a wanton and “unacceptable disregard for human life.”
Also, a former United States ambassador to Nigeria, Mr John Campbell, has said the counter-terrorism strategy being used by the Federal Government to contain the nefarious activities of the sect could backfire.
In an interview, he said “what the Nigerian government is doing is treating Boko Haram as a security problem. I see it more as a political problem, and rather team focusing so much on police methods, I would try political intiatives that might have the potential for sucking the oxygen out of Boko Haram.”
Campbell suspected the number of hard-core operatives of the sect was small, adding that the nucleus of the sect might have been made smaller in the losses suffered in Kano.
Meanwhile, the national secretary of the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), Buba Galadima, has said the sect is only fighting a “class warfare,” rather than the potrayal of its members as terrorists by what he called the government propaganda.
“It is a class war borne out of poverty," Galadima said.

Umeh's linking of Shettima with Boko Haram is Nonesense! says SSG

Borno State Government has described claims by the National Chairman of All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) Chief Victor Umeh that it has set up Boko Haram in order to wage war against Nigeria as “extremely irresponsible and absurd.”
Secretary to the Borno State Government Ambassador Baba Ahmad Jidda said this yesterday in Abuja while reacting to a statement by the APGA chairman, which was reported by some newspapers last Friday.
In his statement, Jidda said: “We would have ignored this unfortunate and uninformed outburst by Mr. Victor Umeh if not for the malicious and unwarranted allegations which could mislead gullible members of the public about the true state of affairs with respect to the issues he raised...
“Mr. Umeh’s false and malicious accusation that Borno State Government created this sect ‘in order to wage war against Nigeria’ is extremely irresponsible. There is no shred of evidence to support this absurdity. Rather than ‘wage war against Nigeria,’ the Borno State Government under Governor Kashim Shettima has done everything in its power to restore peace and stability to the state. Let me state here that it was Governor Shettima who, very early in his tenure, offered to dialogue with the sect in order to address its grievances. It should be remembered that most of their grievances arose from events that happened in 2009, two years before he came to office.
“Umeh’s main assertion was that the suspected Madallah bombing mastermind Kabiru Umar, alias Kabiru Sokoto, was captured by security agents inside the Borno State Governor’s Lodge in Abuja. I have already explained the circumstances in which this sordid episode happened in a statement I issued last Monday, which was widely reported in the newspapers of last Tuesday, January 17, 2012. Let me repeat for the benefit of Mr. Umeh and others who may have missed our explanation that the said Kabiru Umar managed to sneak into the Borno State Governor’s Lodge with the help of one Ibrahim Abba Umar, who secured permission from the Permanent Secretary of the Borno Liaison office in Abuja to spend a night there.
“Incidentally, the payment of N100 million to the family of the late Baba Fugu was part and parcel of these efforts to end the sect’s insurgency and restore peace to the state. It should be recalled that the family of Baba Fugu sued Borno State Government and won a court order for the payment of the money as damages to them. Rather than continue with a protracted court case, Borno State Government paid the money in obedience to the court order.
“It can therefore be seen that Mr. Victor Umeh’s call for the ‘arrest and prosecution’ of His Excellency Governor Kashim Shettima in respect of the capture of Kabiru Umar is meaningless, illogical and lacking any foundation whatsoever.”

Boko Haram attackes men in police uniform in Kano City as Emir of Kano weeps. Goodluck jonathan weeps

Fresh witness accounts of the Kano carnage reveal how a team of about 50 men in Police and Army uniforms stormed the Bompai barracks and shot dead nearly everybody there during the chaos immediately after coordinated bombings in the city on Friday.
A female police officer who survived the shootings at the barracks said the unidentified assailants invaded the place and conducted “systematic killings” shortly after a bomb detonated at the nearby state police command.
She said the operation appeared to be well-timed, as it was executed at a time when people were scampering for safety following the explosions.
“They just came into the barracks in mobile police uniforms soon after the explosions at the police command and took the advantage of the situation shooting every person they saw running for safety,” she told Daily Trust yesterday.
“These men deceived us by wearing mobile police uniforms and giving impression they were only there for a rescue mission; they took us by surprise when they started shooting every person they saw,” the officer said.
After the indiscriminate shootings in the open, the men then went house-to-house in the barracks killing people including those who took cover inside toilets, she said.
“The following day dead bodies littered all over the place. It was a sad day indeed; we will never forget this day in life,” she added.
Police Corporal Aliu Abdullahi also told Reuters news agency he saw men in Police uniform shooting people indiscriminately.
“We were in the mess when we saw people running and heard gunshots from the gate, I saw them shooting. You could not differentiate the Boko Haram members from our Police Mobile Force men because they wore the same uniform,” Aliu, who survived multiple gunshots, said.
“They were more than 50. As I tried to run a bullet hit me on my left hand and another shot hit me on my chest I fell,” he added.
Another witness said he saw close to 50 assailants when they attacked the police barracks and “killed every person inside except women and children.”
He said began to climb the wall before they saw him and fired, hitting and injuring him.
The witness, who declined to give his name, said “all of them were dressed in either Mobile Police uniforms or Army camouflage. They also wore black cloth under their service caps. They appeared were more professional in the operation than the military.”
A resident of the neighbourhood surrounding the barracks said at least 100 people were killed at the barracks alone. He said the place was now a ‘ghost town’ as most of the residents had taken refuge in other parts of the city.
He said the barracks which used to be safe place for refugees whenever there were religious or ethnic crisis in town was now deserted.
Daily Trust learnt that the attack on the residence of the Assistant Inspector General of Police was carried out also by unidentified uniformed men who, obviously planning to kidnap the AIG’s family, told security men on guard that they were sent to take his family to a safe place.
When it was clear they could not succeed, they opened fire and the armed guards returned fire and in the process two of the AIG’s personal staff were killed.
Death toll climbs
The coordinated series of bomb blasts and shooting sprees mostly targeting police stations on Friday has left at least 250 people dead, according to medics, making this by far the deadliest attack claimed by the Boko Haram sect.
One doctor told the AFP news agency that the final toll was likely to be about 250.
“Although the bulk of the bodies were brought here [the main hospital], others were deposited at three other hospitals,” the doctor said.
Aid workers were still collecting bodies from the streets yesterday.
Kano police authorities are yet to speak since the incident took place last Friday as they refused to respond to any enquiry on anything related to the explosions.
Govt relaxes curfew
The Kano State Government yesterday relaxed the 24-hour curfew earlier imposed on the state following Friday’s bomb blasts and gun attacks.
Information Commissioner Umar Faruk Jibril announced the relaxation to newsmen in Kano, saying the curfew would now take effect from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Jibril said the measure was meant to allow the people to conduct their activities within the scheduled period, and thanked them for complying with the initial curfew.
Emir weeps as Jonathan visist
Apparently overwhelmed by the level of the carnage, Emir of Kano Alhaji Ado Bayero yesterday shed tears when President Goodluck Jonathan visited him at his palace.
The emir was seen repeatedly wiping away tears from his face while delivering his emotion-laden speech.
Bayero urged the Federal Government to increase the number of security personnel in the state to beef up security given the size of the state. “The security personnel in Kano are not sufficient enough to give the state the necessary protection in crisis situation,” he said.
He said the state has only 8,300 police officers to protect over nine million people.
Earlier, President Jonathan said government would not rest until it wiped out all forms of terrorism in the country.
“We cannot allow these terrorists to keep terrorising us. We will not rest until we wipe all forms of terrorism in this country so that terrorist will have no place to live in the country,” he said.
“I am urging every one of us to try and know his neighbour and what he is doing as a profession so that you can do self-policing for yourselves before you are taken unawares,” Jonathan said.
“You people should be assisting the securities with useful information that will help them do their work effectively. If you don’t assist the securities and things continue to happen, one day it will consume all of us,” he added.
He said the Federal Government would collaborate with the state government to assist victims of the attacks, and assured that government would assist in boosting irrigation farming in Kano to provide employment opportunities.
Cars found with bombs
Two cars, a Honda Civic with registration number BB 748 NSR, Kano and a Kia with registration number FD 966 LND, were found yesterday wired with locally made explosives along Eastern Bypass in Kano city.
Police personnel recovered eight explosives locally made with cans of drinks and cigarette filters in the two vehicles.
Other items recovered include a kerosene stove, an old electricity metre and electric wires. The items were being kept in police custody.
But efforts to get the police to confirm the incident proved abortive as access was denied in to the police headquarters and the telephone of the police spokesman was switched off.
Witnesses said the cars were noticed parked there since last Friday evening during the time when multiple bomb explosions rocked the city. The Honda vehicle was found parked at NNPC mega station while the Kia was parked few metres away, at Chula filling station along the bypass