Wednesday, September 17, 2014

Gunmen Attack School, Kill 47 in Kano, Kaduna
Arrested Boko Haram suspects in Nigeria.
Written by Saxone Akhaine (Kaduna), Mohammed Abubakar (Abuja), Murtala Muhammed and Abba Anwar (Kano)
Nigerian Guardian

• Capture arms, ammunition, armoured carrier

• Jonathan, others condemn  violence

AT least, 15 persons were confirmed killed and 34 injured after suspected Boko Haram members launched terror attacks on the Federal College of Education, Kano, Wednesday.

  Earlier Wednesday, it was learnt that Kaduna State was thrown into confusion as suspected Fulani gunmen attacked three communities in Sanga Local Government Area (LGA) in Southern part of the state. They killed about 32 villagers and injuring several others.

   An indigene of the area and National President of Ninzom Development Youths (NDY), Mr. Bezard Wuyah, said the incident also witnessed the killing of a soldier and injuring of four others in an ambush by gunmen.

  An eyewitness told The Guardian Wednesday that about 10 gunmen invaded one of the lecture halls at the new site of the Federal College of Education, Kano around 2:00 p.m. while the students were receiving lectures and discharged two improvised   explosive devices  (IED) on the innocent students. The source insisted that about 30 students were killed.

  The peaceful atmosphere in the college was shattered as the terror left both students and teachers scampering for safety.

  The Kano State Commissioner of Police, Adenrele Shinaba, told journalists at the scene of the incident that insurgents penetrated the college after an encounter with security operatives at one of the checkpoints in the metropolis before diverting to FCE, Kano, killing 15 and injuring 34.

   Shinaba noted: “We received the report about 2:00 p.m. that some gunmen believed to be insurgents came into the college and entered one of the lecture halls and started shooting and also activated explosives. So far we have recorded 34 people injured and 15 persons lost their lives.”

   The police commissioner posited that security operatives later repelled the attack, killing two of the gunmen and recovered two of their AK47 rifles while others escaped.

  An official of the Academic Affairs Department, Abdullah Adamu, also disclosed that the insurgents “ found their way into the college theater hall when students were about to write exams. The next thing we heard was gunshots and later we heard explosives like bomb blasts. At least, I counted 10 dead bodies before they were evacuated to hospital.”

  The eyewitness said that the head of Department of Christian Religious Studies, Dr. T. K. Ajamu, was among those killed.

  Schools have been major targets of attacks in Kano. Recently, the Kano State School of Hygiene and the state-owned polytechnic were attacked, killing more than 15 persons.

  President Goodluck Jonathan yesterday commiserated with residents of Kano State.

   Reacting to the attacks, Jonathan, in a statement by his Spokesman, Reuben Abati,  expressed his sympathies and best wishes for a speedy recovery.

  The president commended the officers and men of the Nigeria Police Force who took prompt action to confront the attackers and minimise resultant casualties. He urged them to be even more alert and proactive in the future to stop terrorist attacks in Kano and other parts of the country.

   “President Jonathan reassures the people of Kano and all Nigerians that the Federal Government continues to do all within its powers to further enhance the ability of the Police, Armed Forces and other security agencies to prosecute the war against terrorism to a successful conclusion and provide greater security of lives and property across the country.”

  The members of Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) and Kaduna State Governor Mukhtar Ramalan Yero also condemned the attacks on residents  of Sanga local council of Kaduna  and  Kano  states.

  The ACF leaders urged Boko Haram insurgents to lay down their arms and embrace peace, because the ordinary Nigerians who fell victims of their attacks did not understand their grievances.

   In their separate statements, the ACF leaders and Yero said that the two attacks were orchestrated by enemies of peace aimed at truncating the stable atmosphere in the two states.

   The Vice Chairman of Sanga local council, Mr. Bulus Mande, also collaborated the narration of Wuyah on phone when he said that the incident was a bloody attack by the gunmen who invaded the people of the council.

  It was learnt that when the gunmen invaded Sanga community, several inhabitants were caught unawares. Many who attempted to escape sustained severe injuries.

  The Spokesman of Kaduna State Police Command, Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP), Mallam Amuni Lawan, who confirmed the violence, however, said he was yet to get the details of the latest incident at the time of writing this report.

  The Police Public Relations Officer (PRO) of the first Infantry Division, Kaduna, Col. Abdul Usman, said on phone that he had been away from Kaduna and could not confirm the killing of a soldier in an ambush.

  Wuyah said: “We heard before now that Fulani are planning to come and attack us again. Last night, around 1:00 a.m., they came around. They entered Fadan Karshi, Karshi Daji and Unguwan Ganye, all close to one another in Sanga LGA.”

  They first ambushed a military patrol van that was crossing a bridge from Fadan Karshi to Karshi Daji. They fired at the soldiers and killed one, and four were injured. But the soldiers repelled the attacks. The Fulani men then moved in three groups. One went to Fadan Karshi, where they killed 12 people and burnt down 20 houses and injured scores. They moved to Karshi Daji and killed 20 people and burnt down several houses. Those that attacked Unguwan Ganye are still in the place, so we cannot tell you the casualty figure now. But among those killed in Fadan Karshi include the wife of a very respectable retired reverend, Rev. Jacob Aku. His wife was burnt to ashes in the attack.

  “We need serious protection and security from our government or we will be forced to protect ourselves”, he remarked.

   In June, there was relentless assault for a week in which not less than 160 villagers in seven Ninzom villages, in Sanga local council, of Kaduna State were killed, while some of the villages were razed down.

   Meanwhile, troops have allegedly killed scores of Boko Haram terrorists operating in the North East.

  Competent military sources disclosed that the troops successfully crushed an apparent revenge mission by the terrorists who attempted another march on Konduga, Borno State town where over 100 of them were killed last week.

  Konduga is about 50 kilometres to Maiduguri.

   After a fierce battle lasting more than 12 hours on the outskirts of the town, scores of the terrorists were killed yesterday morning.

  “Right now, our troops are combing the vicinity of the battle scene in a cordon-and-search operation to determine the exact casualty figures suffered by the terrorists in the encounter,” a defence source declared.

  During the encounter, three Hilux vehicles, one armoured personnel carrier and a cache of arms and ammunition were confirmed captured by the troops.

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