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A suicide bomber on Sunday found his way
into the City of David Parish of the Redeemed Christian Church of God
in Potiskum, Yobe State, and detonated an explosive device which led to
the death of five worshippers and the bomber.
One other person also sustained injuries.
A source said the dead bomber, suspected
to be a member of the terrorist Islamic sect, Boko Haram, entered the
church auditorium during Sunday service with the Improvised Explosive
Device strapped to his body.
The source said the bomber headed for the altar as soon as he entered the church.
“Before he (the suicide bomber) could be
stopped, he has detonated the bomb strapped to him, which led to the
death of six people; the suicide bomber, the pastor of the church, Dotun
Okerinola; and four others,” the source told one of our correspondents
on the phone.
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The
Police Public Relations Officer, Toyin Gbadegesin, an assistant
superintendent of police, who confirmed the incident to one of our
correspondents, said “A male suicide bomber at about 10 o’clock this
morning detonated a bomb at Redeemed Church, in the Jigawa area of
Potiskum, killing five persons including the suicide bomber.
He also said another female worshipper
in the church sustained serious injuries in the attack and that the
victim was being attended to at the Potiskum General Hospital.
A source in the hospital, who pleaded
anonymity, said five bodies were brought there from the scene of the
attack and that “one woman who sustained serious injuries at the scene
is receiving treatment.”
Reuters quoted a Red Cross
official as saying that the casualties would have been higher if not
that worshippers were just trooping into the church when the bomb went
off.
“People were just going to the church
when the bomber entered, otherwise the casualty figure would have been
higher,” said Red Cross official, Hassan Alhaji Muhammad, who reportedly
visited the scene of the explosion on the outskirts of Potiskum.
In Jos, twin bomb blasts occurred late on Sunday with many deaths recorded.
As of the time of this report, the
actual casualty figure could not be ascertained but an eyewitness said
he counted no fewer than 15 bodies at the scene of the first explosion
at a restaurant opposite the Bauchi Road campus of the University of
Jos.
The explosion went off at about 9.15 pm.
The second explosion was also said to
have occurred about 15 minutes later at a mosque near Yan Tyre (tyre
market) area of Dilimi junction, along same Bauchi Road.
The leader of the Izalla sect, Sheikh
Yahaya Jingir, normally performs the Tafsir (breaking of fast) at the
mosque hence it always attract large number of Muslims.
“We have counted 15 bodies that died
instantly from the first blast; we are now moving to the scene of the
second one at the mosque. But the soldiers are asking us to go back
because the casualty figure is high,” an eyewitness told one of our
correspondents in Jos Sunday night.
The Police Public Relations Officer in
Plateau State, Emmanuel Abuh, who confirmed the twin blasts, said that
men of the anti-bomb squad had been dispatched to the area. He said that
the exact casualty figure and the extent of damage could not be
ascertained until the men are able to clear the area.
“It is too early to give any figure. We have dispatched our men there and we are expecting feedback from them,” he told The PUNCH.
Also in Zamfara State, gunmen reportedly
killed at least 30 people in the Birnin-Magaji Local Government Area,
the News Agency of Nigeria reports.
Chairman of the council, Muhammad Gusami, said on Sunday that the attacks took place in Kokeya and Chigama villages in the area.
Gusami said the gunmen invaded Kokeya
village with motorcycles and killed two persons, set some houses ablaze
and carted away animals mostly cows.
“The gunmen killed more than 30 persons whose bodies were still being recovered from the bush,’’ he said.
Ibrahim Sani, a witness, said that the gunmen who invaded Kokeya came while the villagers were closing from their prayers.
“The attackers shot sporadically in the air which prompted the people of Chigama to intervene.
“That may have provoked the gunmen to
come back so as to punish Chigama people for trying to prevent the
attack the previous day.
“While three persons were killed from
Kokeya and Chigama on the first day in Kokeya, more than 50 were killed
on the second day in Chigama while several houses were burnt,” Sani
said.
The Police Public Relations Officer,
Sanusi Amiru, who confirmed the attack, said that the police and army
had moved to the area and normalcy had been restored.
President Muhammadu Buhari on Sunday said members had declared war on all that Nigerians value.
He spoke in reaction to the attack on
the RCCG church and his reaction was contained in a statement by his
Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Mr. Femi Adesina.
The President said he received the news of the latest attack with sadness.
The statement read in part, “The
President wholly condemns the resumption of attacks by terrorists on
places of worship, which are highly revered places of prayer and
communion with God for most Nigerians.
“Nigerians are a very religious people
and President Buhari believes that the terrorists who wantonly attack
our places of worship have wilfully declared war on all that we value,
and must therefore be confronted with all our might and collective
resolve.
“The President reaffirms his
administration’s total commitment to doing everything possible to
eradicate Boko Haram, terrorism and mindless extremism from Nigeria in
the shortest possible time.
“President Buhari assures all Nigerians
that terrorism will ultimately be defeated and full security restored to
all parts of the country for people to safely practise their respective
faiths with liberty wherever they may reside in the nation.
“The Constitution gives all Nigerians
that right and the present administration will deploy all required force
and resources to protect citizens’ right to freedom of worship.”
