UPDATED: ‘102 killed’ in 3 Kano mosque blasts

The central mosque in Kano has been hit by bomb blasts during Juma’at prayers, killing “at least 102 people”, according to a witness who spoke with BBC.

Ikechukwu Eze, a captain and spokesman of the military joint task force,  confirmed the blasts.

Though Mustapha Abubakar, the spokesman of the police in Kano, declined to give any causality figures, Sanusi Lemu, the state deputy commissioner of police, put the death toll at 35, adding that about 150 persons also sustained injuries.

A security operative who craved anonymity told TheCable that the attackers disguised as worshippers. He said there were three explosions in all.

“The explosions occurred right inside Ado Bayero Central mosque,” he said.

Mohammed Sanusi II, the emir of Kano, who usually prays at the mosque, was said to be absent during the incident.

A witness told TheCable that the first blast occurred around 2pm at the road leading to Mandawari, while the other two blasts exploded within the mosque.

Angry youths were said to have staged series of protests, accusing  the police of negligence and inability to protect the people.

Officials of the mortuaries at the Murtala Mohammed Specialist Hospital and Nassarawa Hospital, said many corpses have been deposited at the respective hospitals.

Abdul Umaru, a resident of Kano, said there was an exchange of gunfire between security personnel and unknown persons, moments after the blasts.

“Kano is on fire. Gunshots everywhere,” he told TheCable. “We cannot go out because we have just been held captive inside our homes.”

Kano has witnessed about seven attacks this year alone.

The most recent was on November 14, when a suicide bomber detonated a bomb in a petrol station around the Hotoro area of the state, killing seven persons and injuring several others.

Meanwhile, President Goodluck Jonathan has condemned the attack, calling on relief agencies and medical personnel to deploy every possible effort to assist the injured.

Jonathan also appealed to relatives of injured persons and public-spirited individuals to heed the call for the donation of blood by the hospitals where the injured are being treated.

He further directed the security agencies to investigate the attack and ensure that the perpetrators are brought to justice.