THE FILE: Kano, Nigeria’s most bombed city

The ancient city of Kano has witnessed six strings of deadly blasts this year. The blasts, which vary in fatality, are testament to the turpitude of Boko Haram, a terror group that has inflicted fatal wounds on the country, particularly the northeast.

The scale and succession of fatal explosions in the bubbly city of Kano is indeed a cause of worry for all conscientious Nigerians. This year in particular, bomb attacks recorded in the city have shot up the charts of terrorist attacks in the country.

The first attack in Kano this year was on May 18. The suicide bomb attack, which the police confirmed to have killed five people, occurred at 10pm at a pub at Middle Road-Gold Coast, Sabon Gari. The casualties were three men, a girl and the bomber.

And on June 23, Boko Haram struck at 2:05pm at the School of Hygiene, killing eight persons and wounding at least 12 persons. The bomb attack was “cold” in its conception and execution, as students were primarily targeted. Kano state commissioner of police, Adenrele Tasheed Shinaba, described the attack as a suicide attack, with the attacker carrying a rucksack and pretending to be one of the students. The police arrested a suspect.

And then on July 24, a bomb hidden in a table-top refrigerator disguised as luggage went off at New Road Motor Park at Sabon Gari, killing one woman and wounding eight other people. According to the police who confirmed the tragedy, the blast occurred at about 3pm.

Boko Haram’s bloodletting continued in the city that is home to millions of Nigerians on July 27 with the death of six people in two separate bomb attacks at a church and Kofar Nassarawa. Shinaba confirmed the blasts, saying three suspects were been arrested. Another blast effectuated by a suspected female suicide bomber also occurred opposite the temporary campus of North-West University, but only the bomber was caught in her web of destruction.

Also, Boko Haram, through a female suicide bomber, on July 30 set off a bomb at the Kano State Polytechnic, Gadan-Kaya, killing at least six people and wounding six other people. A witness told TheCable that the suspect disguised in hijab and mixed with students queuing to check their names on the newly-released National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) posting list.

And the most fatal bomb attack considering the number of casualties in Kano happened on September 17 at the Federal College of Education, Zaria road, killing 15 people wounding 34 other people. The police said the incident occurred at 3:30pm, and that two armed men detonated improvised explosive devices at the lecture hall of the college. According to the police, the gun men had been killed.