The police confirmed yesterday that 22 people died in the multiple suicide bomb attacks at the Luxury Bus Park in Kano on Monday. A total of five buses were targeted, the force said, even as the state government has announced it will foot the medical bills of the survivors. This is even as non-indigenes declared today work-free to honour the victims, pray and fast.
Also yesterday, a female policewoman, Sergeant Maimuna Yusuf, was gunned down. Addressing a press conference at the Bompai police headquarters, the Commissioner of Police, Alhaji Musa M Daura, stated that the command was “displeased to inform the public of the ugly incident which occurred on Monday, 18th March, 2013 at about 1720 hours, whereby two suicide bombers drove a Golf car, blue in colour, into the Luxury Bus Park along New Road in Sabon Gori, Kano.
“They attacked and hit a loading bus belonging to Gobison Motors, which was taking off to Lagos and sparked off series of explosions which set the particular bus, affected passengers, hawkers, traders and other workers at the park, on fire. “So far, a total of 22 people were confirmed dead and 65 people sustained varying degrees of injuries, while five buses were burnt. All injured persons have been taken to the hospital within the metropolis while corpses were deposited in the morgue”, he stated. However, the president of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Kano State Chapter, Chief Michael Tobias Idika, disagreed with the police, saying that any declaration of a death toll that is less than 60 people was being economical with the truth about the explosions.
He told Daily Sun “when I came to the Luxury Bus Garage minutes after the explosions- in fact, I came so early- I saw 20 corpses burnt beyond recognition. They were put outside. “Then, I now went into the park and I still saw another batch of police officers, they were carrying corpses and putting them into one big police van. There, I counted 30 corpses before I left. Then I came back two hours later, at about 7:30pm to the park, I now discovered that the fire brigade that came had been able to put out the fire that was burning the buses and at this stage, it was easier to go into the buses and retrieve thea corpses that were stuck inside.
“Here, the police officers were removing corpses from the park until 9.30 pm. In fact, they had to hire passersby to carry some corpses. Let us not forget that several victims were taken to the hospital in very bad conditions and most of them, due to the absence of emergency medical team from any quarters, were brought to the hospitals rather late. And from what we are hearing, a number of them did not make it. They died. “So, with due respect to the police commissioner, it is either the police command in the state did not bother to take a proper inventory of the dead toll or they are covering up the exact extent of the tragedy in order to keep their job,” he noted. Idika therefore, ordered a three-day sit-at-home from yesterday for the Igbo living in the state to mourn their kinsmen and women.
According to him, some unidentified persons had hidden some corpses for undisclosed reasons, making the police in the state to put the figure of those that died at 22. Meanwhile, it was yet another terror attack as Sergeant Yusuf was shot and killed by unknown gunmen in the state capital yesterday. She was attacked while riding on a motor-bike. The tragedy, which created a chaos in the affected area, occurred in the early hours.
The deceased had stopped by the GSM market area to fix her car, which had a flat tyre. Police Commissioner Daura confirmed the incident and said that investigation had begun. In a related development, the state government has pledged to foot the bills of the victims. Deputy Governor Abubakar Umar Ganduje disclosed this yesterday after visiting some of the survivors in the various hospitals and clinics in the state capital.
He described the attack on the passengers as sad, disheartening and barbaric, saying that it was anti – Islamic while saying the perpetrators acted alone. Majority of the survivors at various hospitals and clinics visited have first and second degree burns. They told the deputy governor that they were in deep pains. Meanwhile, the son of the Emir of Kano and Hakimi Fagge, Alhaji Mahmoud Ado Bayero, has expressed shock over the attack. He commiserated with the bereaved families, describing the incident as tragic and painful.
The son of the Emir, who was among the first callers at the Luxury Park, prayed for the souls of the departed and commiserated with the members of the Luxury Bus Owners Association. He also condoled with the Igbo community over the tragedy. He recalled that his father, Emir Ado Bayero, was recently attacked by suspected terrorists and felt that the security challenges in the country needed an urgent solution. He urged Islamic clerics and pastors to pray for the country. Meanwhile, Kano State Ethnic Traditional Leaders Forum yesterday condemned the attack and asked non- indigenes resident in the state to stay at home today to pray and fast to end security challenges facing the state and the entire country.
The forum, made up of the traditional leaders of the non –indigenous communities in the state, also asked the state to pray for the souls of the dead victims. In attendance at the meeting which took place at the palace of the Oba of Yoruba, Alhaji Abdulahi Salihu, included the Eze Ndigbo, Igwe Boniface Ibekwe, the Ada of Idoma, Alhaji Abubakar Ali, and the Onigie of Edo, Deacon Fred Akhigbe, and the president of the Non- indigene Community Leaders Association in the state, Dr Jimpat Ayalangbe.
The forum equally charged the state government to strengthen the security arrangement in the park and in Sabon-Gari Area. Specifically, they demanded for a police post to improve its security given the huge traffic of passengers that make use of the park daily. The traditional leaders also sought for the establishment of a fire service post at the luxury bus park, saying such a situation would lead to timely intervention in the event of a fire outbreak in future.
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