Boko Haram suspected after Emir of Kano’s mosque bombed
Two bombs exploded at the mosque of one of Nigeria‘s top Islamic
leaders Friday, a week after he issued a call to arms to fight Boko
Haram.
The blasts happened at the Grand Mosque in Kano, the
biggest city in the Muslim north of the country, just as Friday prayers
had got under way at about 2:00 pm (1300 GMT). The mosque is attached to
the palace of the Emir of Kano, Nigeria‘s second most senior Muslim
cleric.
The explosions came after
civilian vigilantes in the northeastern city of Maiduguri said they
foiled a bomb attack against a mosque, five days after two female
suicide bombers killed over 45 people in the Two bombs exploded, one
after the other, in the premises of the Grand Mosque seconds after the
prayers had started,” worshipper Aminu Abdullahi said.
“A third
one went off in a nearby road close to the Qadiriyya Sufi order. The
blasts were followed by gunshots by the police to scare off potential
attacks.”
His account was backed up by another witness, Hajara Tukur, who said she lives nearby.
National police spokesman Emmanuel Ojukwu told AFP he was waiting for a
briefing from officers at the scene and declined further comment. There
was no official word on casualties.
The emir, known officially
as Muhammad Sanusi II, last week said at the same mosque that
northerners should take up arms against Boko Haram, which has been
fighting for a hardline Islamic state since 2009.
He also cast
doubt on Nigerian troops’ ability to protect civilians and end the
insurgency, in rare public comments by a cleric on political and
military affairs.
– Influential figure –
The Emir of Kano
is a hugely influential figure in Nigeria, which is home to more than 80
million Muslims, most of whom live in the north.
Officially the
emir is the country’s number two cleric, behind the Sultan of Sokoto,
and any attack could inflame tensions in Nigeria’s second city, which is
an ancient seat of Islamic study.
Sanusi was named emir earlier
this year and is a prominent figure in his own right, having previously
served as the governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria.
Abdul Azeez Halidu popularly known as Zee World is now dead. The
founder of Haliya records died today, November 30, 2014 after what is
believed to be a long battle with cancer.
another wonders
