Boko Haram insurgents had earlier claimed responsibility for the attack at the popular El Rufai bus terminal in Nyanya, Abuja, which claimed at least 75 lives and injured an estimated 141 persons. The incident happened on April 14th.
Security operatives were still battling with the first blast and its collateral damage when the second bomb allegedly went off in the same Nyanya killing some 14 persons on May 1st.
But Kano Police operatives, acting on intelligence, tracked and recovered a Mitsubishi Station Wagon car, with registration number Kano – AE 756 GSW loaded with assorted gas cylinders, one container of fuel and other electrical components of Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs), which would have been the second blast in the Kano city neighbourhood.
Police said if the devices had gone off, “the impact would have been devastating. Human lives would have been wasted because the entire vehicle was filled up with explosives,” a Police officer in Kano Zonal command said.
The Force spokesperson, Frank Mbah, in a statement confirmed the incident and added that the situation was under control. The vehicle was recovered at Tafawa Balewa Street, Nasarawa area of Kano State and has since been rendered safe by Police Bomb Disposal experts. Meanwhile, security agencies in Kano have commenced investigation into both the aborted blast as well as the last night bomb incident.
It will be recalled that a suspected suicide bomber detonated an IED yesterday, May 18, 2014, about 9:30pm at Middle Road, off Gold Coast Street, Sabon Gari, Kano. The blast led to the death of five persons including the suspected suicide bomber. Seven persons were injured, four of them already treated and discharged while six vehicles were also damaged.
While commiserating with the families and friends of the victims of the last night incident, the Inspector-General of Police, MD Abubakar, called for the cooperation of all in the fight against terrorism. He promised that the law enforcement agencies would continue to do their best towards winning the ongoing war against terrorism.
The IGP has also ordered the strengthening of security in all boarding schools in and around Makurdi, the capital of Benue State.
This is coming on the heels of a recent threat letter purportedly issued by elements claiming to be Boko Haram members to two all-boys secondary schools – Government College, Makurdi, and Mount Saint Gabriel College Makurdi. Consequently, Benue State Police Command, working in conjunction with the State Ministry of Education and the affected school authorities, has strengthened surveillance in the schools and other b JTF Arrests Immigration Officer With Boko Haram Identity Card
In another development, an officer with the Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS) was arrested on Sunday for being in possession of a Boko Haram identity card.A Police source told our Correspondent in a telephone interview from Maiduguri, Borno State, “A high profile Boko Haram member, who is an officer of Nigeria’s Immigration Service, Ahmed Grema Mohammed, has been named as one of the security personnel carrying out terrorist attacks in the country.”
The revelation came after he was arrested by the men of the Joint Task Force (JTF) in Maiduguri, the Borno State capital.Mohammed, who is attached to the Nangere office of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) in Yobe State, was apprehended at a checkpoint on the Maiduguri-Damaturu Road while on his way to allegedly kill a former special adviser to a past governor of the state.“Most of the personnel named by Mohammed have been arrested, while security agencies are on the trail of others,” the police source said.The news of Mohammed’s arrest was contained in a JTF statement signed by the task force spokesman, Lt. Col Sagir Musa.
According to the statement, Mohammed had been on the wanted list in the country and was arrested on August 17 last year for impersonating a lieutenant in the Nigerian Army.
The statement added, “Mohammed confessed to be actively involved in the killings of some senior civil servants, security agents, and politicians in Damaturu who spoke against the activities of Boko Haram, particularly the former chairman of Damboa Council, Alhaji Lawal Kawu.
“He also took part in the attack on the old Police Headquarters in Damaturu, where some policemen were killed and large quantity of arms and ammunition carted away.“In addition, he was among the terrorists that attacked Damaturu Prison, burnt some primary schools, the State CID office and the Police Safety Vehicle, among others.“The suspect revealed to JTF that he and 15 other members of the organization were intensively trained for three months on G3 and AK 47 rifles, as well as in assassination and special operations in Niger Republic.“He also revealed names of some security personnel that participated in terrorists’ attacks in Borno and Yobe states.”
oarding schools within Makurdi metropolis.
Meanwhile, the Police have commenced investigations aimed at ascertaining the source and authenticity or otherwise of the said hand-written letter now in possession of the Force.
The Police High Command advised residents of all host communities nationwide where boarding schools are located to remain perpetually on the alert and report any suspicious movement to the appropriate authorities.
The Islamic insurgents are still holding over 200 teenage girls they earlier kidnapped from Government Girls College, Chibok, near Maiduguri in Borno State.
Source: The Union