GUNMEN early Monday attacked the family residence of the Vice-President Namadi Sambo
in Tundun-Wada, Zaria, Kaduna
State, injuring the two mobile
policemen guarding the house.
A cobbler attending
to one of the mobile policemen as of the time of the attack was reportedly hit
and died on the spot. The attack on the VP house occurred at 11 o’clock in the morning.
Also, suspected
suicide bombers launched attacks on the office of the Assistant
Inspector-General of Police in charge of Zone 10 in Sokoto, Muhtari Ibrahim,
and a shop owned by the Police Officer Wives’ Association, adjacent to the
Unguwar Rogo police station, Marina, Sokoto.
Dead victims
of the Sokoto attacks included a hairdresser, a policeman, and the two
suspected bombers.
The attacks in
Sokoto and Kaduna came on a day the
police announced the casualty figure of Sunday night’s bombing in Kano.
The police said four persons were killed in the blast that rocked the Kano-Gwarzo
Road but residents insisted on Monday that the
casualty figure was higher.
In Tundun-Wada, Zaria,
unknown gunmen on a motorbike fired at Sambo’s residence under rehabilitation
and injured the policemen on guard.
The house had
remained uninhabited by the VP family since it was attacked during the 2011
post-election violence in Kaduna State.
Ibrahim confirmed
the attack on his office and the death of a policeman, a Corporal; and the
suicide bomber. He said eight policemen and a civilian were injured as a result
of the attack.
The AIG
said that five offices and other parts of the one-storey building, the gate,
and some neighbouring houses were shattered. The official car of the police
chief was also reportedly damaged.
He was quoted by the
News Agency of Nigeria as saying that the suicide bomber who attacked
his office drove a Honda Accord car and forced his way into the premises after
he was denied entry.
Ibrahim said
that only the dead suicide bomber was in the vehicle, adding that
investigations would continue on the development.
He asked
members of the public to provide security agencies with useful information to
curb the trend.
Deputy Commissioner
of Police, Kudu Nma, who confirmed the attack on the Unguwar Rogo police
station, said the attacker could not gain access into the police station .
According to Nma,
only the attacker died at the Unguwar Rogo police station after he struck a
nearby POWA shop.
Spokesman for the
Sokoto State Police Command, Sani Salisu, a Deputy Superintendent
of Police, confirmed the death of the hairdresser at the POWA shop near Unguwar
rogo police station.
The Deputy Force
Public Relations Officer, Frank Mba, who also confirmed the attacks, said
security had been beefed in the areas.
“Security has been
beefed up in Sokoto and Zaria and
men of the Anti-Terrorist Squad have taken over the areas,” Mba told The
PUNCH.
The violent attacks
in Sokoto and Kaduna, analysts said
on Monday must have taken security agents by surprise given the expectation
that the attackers, believed to be members of the violent Islamic sect, Boko
Haram, would cease fire during the Ramadan season.
The attacks also
came barely 24 hours after two ex-heads of state, Olusegun Obasanjo and Ibrahim
Babangida, in a joint statement lamented the worsening state of security in the
country. Obasanjo and Babangida said Nigerians were living in fear and
uncertainty.
The Kano State
Police Commissioner, Mr Ibrahim Idris had also confirmed the attack
on the city on Sunday night.
He said that some
gunmen attempted to attack a mosque in Jan Bulo quarters around 10:30 p.m. on Sunday.
An official
statement by the command on Monday said, “The Kano State Police Command wish to
inform the general public that on 29th Day of July 2012 at 2030hrs, unknown
gunmen on three motorcycles attacked a patrol team attached to Rijar Zaki
positioned at 2nd Gate JamblockEstate.
“The police patrol
team responded and in the ensuing gun duel, two of the attackers were gunned
down by the police, while two died from explosives they were carrying.
“One of them was
burnt beyond recognition. There was no police or civilian casualty. Recovered
at the scene of the incident were three motorcycles, one AK 47 rifle, an
assault rifle and 50 rounds of ammunition.
“Officers of the
Command Anti-Bomb Squad combed the entire area and further recovered 10
undetonated explosives. The area is now calm.”
However, residents
of the area insisted on Monday that the casualty figure was higher because it
was a densely populated area.
“Whoever claimed
that only four people (attackers) died is telling a huge lie. Some civilians
were victims too. The area was busy with people; some were still breaking their
Ramadan fast. Some were already at the mosque for prayers,” a resident who did
not want his name mentioned told our correspondent in Kano
on Monday.
Meanwhile, the
Senate President, David Mark, has condemned the Sokoto attacks and asked
security agencies to come with new strategy to deal with the worsening
insecurity in the country.
Mark said the
attacks were an assault on the peaceful co-existenc among the people of Sokoto
and begged religious leaders to continue to appeal to members of Boko Haram to
accept the dialogue offer from government.
He said, “The
Federal Government will not dialogue with itself. It has to dialogue with those
who are disenchanted with the system, particularly, leadership and members of
the Boko Haram sect.
“We also urged our
political and religious leaders to continue to appeal to the sect to listen to
the voice of reason.”
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